Squash blossoms - what did I do wrong?

[Vinca]

The other night I was going to try making fried, stuffed, squash blossoms. After I put a small amount of stuffing in each, I twisted the ends as the recipe instructed, supposedly to create a pouch that would be refrigerated for awhile, then dipped in batter and fried. Except I didn't get that far. As I twisted the blossoms, they ripped to shreds and no matter how hard I tried they wouldn't come together. The whole mess landed in the compost pile. Is there another way to secure the ends?

[The empressof all]

1. I find that the trick is.....

You need to pick flowers before they open up all the way. I try to get the flowers before they actually "bloom" This way they have a bit of a natural pocket. Don't over stuff and fry quickly. I use my deep fat fryer and actually sit them up as best as I can with the top opening up. I sometimes use potato hunks wedged between them to hold them up. Lots of folks aren't as obsessive as me and do just fine with just the quick fry.

[Vinca]

3. That makes sense - unopened blossoms. Thanks.

[beac]

4. I actually do the opposite. I wait until they have bloomed and started closing again

on their own in the evening. That way, the "pocket" you will fill is well-formed and the tops of the blossoms are already "twisting" themselves. Don't open the blossom top, just tear a little slit on the top-side of the pocket and fill, overlapping the edges of the slit to close. For best results, use a pastry bag, but a small spoon works too. Be sure not to overfill.

This was my first year cooking zucchini blossoms and I'm glad I did, since my zucchini plants made exactly ONE actual zucchini and promptly got vine borers and died. :(



Here's a favorite blossom recipe, for when you get tired of the fried ones:


Spaghetti with Zucchini Blossoms (Serves 4 as a first course or 2 as an entree)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon dried chile flakes, grated
rind of 1 lemon, grated
16 to 20 large zucchini blossoms, trimmed of the stem and stamen and cut into thick strips
salt
spaghetti, enough for four as a first course, cooked al dente
grated Grana Padano cheese (or substitute Parmigiano)

Preparation:

Gently melt the butter over the lowest flame in a heavy medium-sized skillet. While the butter melts, cut the garlic clove into chunks and add to the butter. Let it infuse as the butter melts. Remove the garlic. (You can slice it thinly if you like it left in, but it will overpower the delicate flavor of the blossoms.) Add the dried chile flakes and the grated lemon rind to the melted butter.

Stir around with a wooden spoon, then add the zucchini blossoms. Stir around until the ingredients are amalgamated and add a dash of salt to taste. Add the cooked and well-drained spaghetti (should be just cooked and hot) and toss in the pan until coated. Serve sprinkled with grated Grana Padano cheese.


Variation: After adding the blossoms, add 1/2 cup of milk to the butter mixture. Simmer until thickened a little. Add in 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano cheese and 2T fresh chopped basil. Cook for a minute more, then pour over the spaghetti. (For an even richer dish, add 1/2c ricotta along with the milk.)

2nd variation: Add 1c grated zucchini along with the blossoms and cook about 1 minute before proceeding.

[Vinca]

5. Yum. That sounds good. Here's another question about the blossoms

that I forgot to ask. Is there a difference whether you use male or female blossoms and should the "apparatus" be removed prior to stuffing?

[beac]

6. For fried blossoms, you can use males or females.

I remove the stamen (or pistil, if I had had more than one female all summer-- lol) before filling, though I have seen recipes that leave them in. I usually just reach in my side slit and pinch it out.

A tip I found useful was using sparkling water to "lighten" the batter and chilling it along with the blossoms to help thicken it a little before frying.


FYI, I tried baking the blossoms, which turned out okay too. Just don't batter them and bake at 400 on parchment. I even did some "open" with the cheese filling showing so it browned a little.

Strips of blossoms add nice color to a quick olive oil-butter saute of grated zucchini & yellow squash and halved cherry tomatoes with fresh basil.


Can you tell we ate A LOT of squash blossoms this summer? :)

[Vinca]

9. Thanks for the info - I'm interested in the baking procedure.

Do you bread them in anything? About what temp for how long? What kind of stuffing do you use? I also appreciate the picture since I've never eaten these before.

[beac]

10. I kind of just figured out the baking thing on my own..

I don't do much frying in general b/c my husband a crazed fat-gram counter and I feel guilty throwing out so much used oil anyway.

For the baked version, I used the same ricotta-based filling as for frying, again slightly dabbled with by me from original recipe. I eliminated the egg and just used ricotta, lemon zest, finely-chopped basil and added grated Grana Padano cheese (like Parmesan, but better IMO) and a touch of crumbled chili flake.

I didn't coat them with anything, but I'd bet you could sprinkle them with bread crumbs before baking for a little crunch.

I did a little Googling just now, and lo and behold, found a recipe for baked zucchini flowers:
http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2007/10/a-de-flowering/

She twists hers closed but my "open-faced" ones with the cheese browning in the half-open flower worked fine too. DO use parchment paper b/c my first attempt on tin foil yielded tasty, but slightly mangled results.


The pic definitely is of her stuffed flowers pre-baking. In the oven the petals crisp up and become papery. If you have females to spare, I'd use them b/c I found the stems on the males tended to burn before the flowers & cheese were fully cooked.

If you make them, post a pic. I'd love to see how yours turn out. :)



Now, I'm off to see if my yellow squash plants can spare enough blossoms for tonight's meal!

[Vinca]

12. Thanks for all your help. I'm not big on fried foods, either.

It's not that I'm counting fat grams (I never met a Dove bar I didn't like), but except for the occasional french fry or fried clam, I just don't like fried foods all that much. Think my next experiment will be your baking method.

[beac]

13. You're welcome!

I'm glad to have had an opportunity to share my newly aquired "wealth" of zux blossom knowledge. :)

[beac]

7. Oh yeah, and I don't "grate" my chile flakes in that spaghetti recipe.

I'm not even sure HOW one would. Sounds like a recipe for Grated Finger Surprise! :scared:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

2. I saw Jamie Oliver on Food Network making fried stuffed squash blossoms

just yesterday. He was Extremely gentle with the blossoms and kind of patted them close. It would be worth looking up on the Food Netowrk channel.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

8. Just today, I saw a whole bunch of them

at a nearby Farmers' Market. I only know that you have to handle them so carefully, but, apropros of squash blossoms, this is what today looked like around here (until this giant thunderstorm began a few minutes ago):

[Vinca]

11. OMG - those cherries are to die for!