Stuffed zucchini flowers, my favorite summertime treat, whenever I spot them on a menu they get ordered, but It’s been a while since I’ve actually made them myself.
Living in the midwest they’re not the easiest thing to find unless you grow your own, and then if you’re lucky enough to find some, which is not very often, they bring out such a small amount that if you’re not right there in front of them, they’re gone in an instant!
They’re such a delicacy and everyone who appreciates them grabs them up really fast.
I lucked out this time by nicely stalking my produce guy, finding out the exact day and time they would arrive and making sure I got there right before they were put out on display. Again it was such a small quantity that they had but I was able to go home with four nice bundles, so I was a happy girl!
There are so many ways you can eat them, in frittatas, quesadilla’s, pizza’s and pasta’s but my favorite way is stuffing the insides with ricotta, herbs, Parmigiano Reggiano and lemon zest and then frying them up until nicely golden with a very light and crispy batter.
They make the best summertime appetizers especially with a cold glass of Prosecco!
Preparing them is a little labor of love, they’re delicate and fragile and you have to handle them with care in the cleaning process. Usually they’ll have some dirt on them so you’ll want to remove that and check inside to make sure there’s no insect hiding as well, then rinse them really good. In the center of the blossom is a pistil, you’ll want to pinch it out with your two fingers and remove it as well, it’s hard and not so pleasant to eat, then let them dry on paper towels.
You can keep them wrapped up gently in paper towels if not using right away and keep them refrigerated for just a couple of days, so buy according to how much you’re going to be using.
Then as far as the stuffing process goes I like placing my ricotta mixture into a pastry bag, it’s a much cleaner and neater way to fill them rather than using a spoon, and it goes really fast.
I like leaving some of the stem on to use as a handle for ease in frying and for eating.
The batter couldn’t be easier to make, just two ingredients, sparkling water and flour, I’m partial to San Pellegrino but any plain sparkling water will do.
Just whisk the two together until you get a loose yogurt consistency, not too thick and not too thin.
The result is a light and crispy tempura like coating, so airy that it doesn’t overpower the zucchini flower at all, it just enhances it as well as the ricotta stuffing.
It has just the right crunch factor!
Crunchy, creamy, dreamy! Hands down my favorite summertime treat especially when it’s swiped into some warm marinara.
Go seek some out before they’re gone and gobble these up!
You can follow Proud Italian Cook on Instagram to see what I’m cooking up during the week.
- Zucchini flowers, leave about 2 inches of stem on, cleaned of dirt and inner pistil
- FILLING
- ricotta, ( remove moisture)
- grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or pecorino)
- granulated garlic
- chopped basil and parsley
- lemon zest
- salt and pepper
- 1 disposable pastry bag
- BATTER
- seltzer water
- all purpose flour
- oil for pan frying
- Optional, marinara for dipping
- Make sure the cleaning prep is done on the zucchini flowers with all the pistils removed inside.
- Mix up your stuffing mixture in a bowl and this is all done to taste, start with a cup of ricotta and add in maybe ¼ cup of cheese, a couple of tablespoons of herbs, zest of ½ lemon and everything else, adjust to your liking.
- Place a disposable pastry bag into a tall glass, fold down sides and fill it with the ricotta mixture, the glass will hold the bag and give you stability as you spoon the filling in.
- Cut the tip of the bag off and proceed to fill the cavity of the flowers.
- When they're all filled up mix up your batter.
- Grab a shallow bowl add a few generous tablespoons of flour and start adding the seltzer water , consistency should be loose yogurt.
- Heat your oil in a fry pan, just enough to cover bottom, then swipe your stuffed flower into the batter on both sides and fry until golden on both sides.
- NOTE: If you need more ricotta mixture make it, if you need more batter, mix up a little more, depending on how many flowers you have and the size of them.
- Place on paper towels to drain. and serve immediately.
- Warm up some marinara for swiping!
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
