02 Sep Pretty Delicious
In our last blog we introduced you to the produce coming into season this autumn as well as highlighting produce that’s going out of season and should not be missed. One thing that should not be missed before the autumn is upon us is a pretty addition to your plate in the form of courgette flowers. Not only are they beautiful, they’re also delicious and even when they’re in season they can be quite hard to get hold of. So we’re setting you the challenge of finding this rare speciality and trying out our stuffed courgette flower recipe but first we’ll tell you a bit more about this obscure bit of produce!
Courgette flowers, as you’ve probably already guessed, are the flowers that grow as part of the plant that we get courgettes from. Although we can find courgettes in the supermarket throughout the year, their flowers are not so common and can usually only be found over the summer months often in specialist shops. The plant that courgettes come from produce two types of flower, one male and one female and it is the male version that is edible and also the more beautiful with its bright yellow petals.
As we’ve mentioned, these flowers are rare and if you are lucky enough to find them use them as quickly as possible, courgette flowers are best as soon after picking as possible. It’s also best if they’re still attached to their stalks and there’s no need to remove this when cooking them and when we say stalk we literally mean a mini courgette because this is what the flowers grow on the end of! If you’re not planning on using them straight away you can store them in a zip lock bag in the fridge to stop them from wilting but make sure you leave them no longer than 3 days.
A great way to enjoy courgette flowers is stuffed with cheese and fried and we’ve provided our recipe below for you to try out!
What You’ll Need:
1 large egg
100g plain flour
Pinch bicarbonate of soda
200ml iced water
250g tub ricotta
150g block soft goat’s cheese
Zest 1 lemon
½ red chilli
Bunch of mint leaves
Salt
Pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, deseeded and finely diced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
8 courgette flowers (of course, that’s the whole point of this recipe!), with stalk (mini courgette) attached
Sunflower oil
What You’ll Need To Do:
- First start by making the batter. Get the egg, flour and bicarbonate of soda and whist together. As you’re whisking, add the iced water a bit at a time until you have a batter with a smooth consistency.
- Next prepare the filling. You’ll need the ricotta, goat’s cheese, lemon zest, chilli (finely chop this) and half of the mint (chop this also). Beat all these ingredients together until well mixed and you can season with salt and pepper as you go.
- Now it’s time to make the dressing. Get the tomato, olive oil and the remaining mint (finely chop this). Mix these ingredients and season with salt and pepper.
- Finally we’re at the exciting part, stuffing the flowers! Be gentle when opening up the flowers and if there’s a stamen inside remove it (this is a stem sticking up from the centre of the inside of the flower). Get the filling you made of ricotta and goat’s cheese that you prepare and spoon it in to the inside of the flowers. Once stuffed, to close the flowers twist the ends of the petals together.
- The last step is to fry the stuffed flowers. If you have a deep-fryer heat this to 180C. If you don’t have a deep-fryer heat your sunflower oil in a pan on the stove. Dip the stuffed flowers in the batter and either place them in the fryer or the pan. Do maybe two flowers at a time so you don’t overcrowd the pan or the fryer. In the pan, fry the flowers on both sides for two minutes each. Once fried, drain on kitchen paper.
- You’re now ready to serve! We recommend two flowers per portion, drizzle with the dressing and a sprinkle of salt and enjoy!
Courgette flowers are a specialist delicacy but not to be missed so make sure you try out our recipe to make this delicious and beautiful dish!
If you’d be interested in learning how to make more dishes that aren’t only pleasing to your taste buds but also your eyes then why not organise private cooking lessons with one of our Michelin star chefs. You can learn whatever you’d like at a lesson, whether it’s plating beautiful dishes or learning what you can make with obscure produce just let us know and we’ll create the perfect lesson plan for you.
We also offer Dinner Parties at which our chefs prepare the most eye-catching dishes, it will be an unforgettable experience for you and your guests.
To organise your cooking lesson or dinner party simply contact us today.
