Cooking with zucchini flowers is a delicious delicacy, especially in Italy. They can be found in pasta dishes, risotto and even with ricotta cheese. But the dish that is most popular is fried zucchini flowers. Zucchini flowers are commonly battered and fried almost like a vegetable tempura. To compliment their salty and crunchy taste, they are sometimes drizzled with honey and topped off with powdered sugar. Preparing an old Italian favorite can be easy with this simple recipe.
Ingredients for Fried Zucchini Flowers:
- 18 zucchini blossoms
- 3 heaping spoonfuls of flour (enough to make the batter thick enough to stick to the blossoms)
- A pint of cold milk, water, or a mixture of beer and water
- Salt
- An egg, lightly beaten
- Olive oil or lard for frying
Steps:
- Pour 3 inches of oil in a deep fryer or large, heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F.
(Be sure to keep hot oil away from children’s reach, parental supervision required.) - Lightly beat the egg yolks and pour in the ice water (or water and/or beer) in a deep mixing bowl to make the batter. Add the flour and continue to mix until the batter is a heavy cream-like consistency.
- After rinsing the flowers, pat completely dry and remove the pistols. Dip 2 zucchini flowers at a time in the batter, make sure they are completely coated. Allow the excess to drip off.
- Allow the flowers to fry and get golden brown for about 2 minutes in the oil.
- Lightly season them with salt and pepper either before adding them in the oil or while they are frying.
- Once golden brown, place them on absorbent paper to soak up the oil. Repeat and serve hot!
*If desired, drizzle honey and powdered sugar as a finishing touch!
