Battered Squash Blossoms

I’ll bet you weren’t expecting this recipe, were you?! I saw squash blossoms on the list of the organic farm I ordered from this week, so I added them to the list. It’s been years since I ate them last in Mexico, in empanadas or quesadillas.

You may be wondering at this point: what do squash blossoms taste like? (A valid question.) Um…flowers? That’s all I can say. Have you even eaten a flower? Squash blossoms aren’t spicy like nasturtiums. They’re kind of soft and, well…flowery. That’s the best I can do.

For starters, check out the blossoms. Squash has separate flowers with male and female parts, so if some of your flowers are male, you’ll need to remove the stamens first. I didn’t do this, and they were a little bitter.

So, after you’ve rinsed off the flowers and removed any stamens, you’re ready to go. Start out by preparing the batter, then work on stuffing the blossoms while the batter chills in the refrigerator.

Here goes:

Ingredients:

The Batter
1/2 cup Flour (I used my usual blend of rice and corn)

1/4 cup Corn starch
1/4 t. Sea salt
1/2 cup Water or Beer

Stuffing
1/4 cup Goat cheese, finely diced
16 large squash blossoms, washed
Vegetable oil for frying (yes, frying)

Preparation:

Start off with the batter: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, while you stuff the blossoms.

Open each blossom and drop about one teaspoon of the cheese cubes into the center of each. If some of the blossoms are smaller, use less cheese to avoid overfilling. Gently twist the top of each blossom together to close (don’t be alarmed if they don’t stay shut).

Pour about ½ an inch of oil into pan and heat on high heat until very hot. (Was I clear about the level of heat needed here?)

Gently dip each stuffed blossom into the batter, coating on all sides, then place it into the very hot oil. Avoid overfilling the pan with blossoms. Cook until golden on one side, or for about three minutes. Then turn over and continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Drain blossoms briefly before serving on a napkin-lined plate.

Enjoy!