Fried Sutffed Zucchini Blossoms
The best edible flowers of all, stuffed with cheese and lightly fried to perfection.
Servings: 12 flowers
Ingredients
- 12 zucchini blossoms (preferably medium or large)
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) low-moisture mozzarella, cut into a small dice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon flat-leaf Italian parsley, minced
- neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, for frying
- lemon wedges, to garnish
For the Batter
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup white wine, prosecco, or seltzer (water can be substituted in a pinch, in addition to below)
- 2/3 cup cold water
Instructions
For the Batter
- Whisk all of the liquid ingredients and the egg together in a small mixing bowl. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Let rest for about 30 minutes. The consistency should be like heavy cream. Adjust as necessary.
For the Zucchini Blossoms and to Finish
- Mix the ricotta, mozzarella, salt, and parsley together in a bowl.
- Prepare the flowers. Remove the stamen or pistal from the center of the blossom, and trim the stems to about 1 inch long. Make sure there are no bugs or dirt on the blossoms.
- Peeling back one flower petal or separating the petals as little as possible, spoon anywhere from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture into the flower, depending on its size. Do not overstuff. Twist the petals closed at the top. Repeat with the rest of the flowers, and let chill for one hour, or overnight, loosely covered in plastic wrap.TIP: The blossoms need to be chilled to firm up the cheese. This helps prevent the filling from leaking out during the cooking process.
- Line up the stuffed zucchini blossoms, the batter (you may need to re-whisk it), a large skillet, and a paper towel-lined tray or dish.
- Heat enough oil in the skillet to come halfway up the side of the zucchini blossoms, about 1/4" or so. The oil should be about 350°F. It will shimmer, but should not smoke. You will know it will be hot enough when a little batter dropped into the oil sizzles.
- Holding each blossom by the stem, dip each blossom in batter, then add to the hot skillet. Make sure the blossoms are fully coated to help prevent cheese from leaking out. Keep dipping and adding stuffed blossoms to the skillet. Do not crowd the skillet; you will probably have to dip and fry in several batches.
- Gently turn each blossom halfway, when the bottoms are golden brown, several minutes per side. Adjust heat as necessary to prevent the oil from smoking or the blossoms from blackening.
- Remove the fried blossoms with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels.
- Serve hot with wedges of lemon.