One of the hazards of putting zucchini plants in the garden is that there will come a time (about mid-summer) when you will have more zucchini than you will know what to do with. I made the mistake of growing six plants one year, when really one healthy zucchini plant (max. 2) is sufficient to feed a family for the whole season.
That year I made lots of zucchini bread, muffins, pasta, pickles, risotto, omelets, salad, soup and soufflé. I sautéed, fried, baked, grilled, grated, and chopped them. By the end of the summer we were all sick to death of the stuff. We couldn’t give them away fast enough. Anyone who came by the house (including the mailman) left with a bag of zucchini, whether they wanted it or not.
If you are in the middle of a zucchini glut, one option is to eat the flowers and thereby reduce your yield. A zucchini plant will produce male and female flowers. Don’t worry, it’s easy to tell them apart. The female flowers become zucchini fruit and the male flowers will eventually turn brown and shrivel up after pollinating the females. However, if you pick the males when they are still fresh and open, they are delicious stuffed and fried.
(If you want to eat the flowers but NOT reduce your zucchini crop, wait a few hours before picking the male flowers the morning they open so the pollens have time to whirl around.)
Fried Zucchini Flowers
After some trial and error, I think I finally have the batter just right. It is light, like tempura, and does not overwhelm the delicacy of the flower. Some people remove the stamen from the zucchini flowers before frying, others leave them in claiming they add flavor. I tend to remove them to make more room for the filling, but experiment for yourself to see what you prefer.
Do not wash the flowers as it makes them soggy. Simply brush away insects or dust with a damp paper towel. Leave some of the stem on the flowers, so you have something to hold on to when dipping them into the batter.
(Makes enough batter for 20-25 flowers)
Fresh zucchini or pumpkin flowers
Fontina cheese (or another tasty cheese that melts well)
Anchovy filets
Oil for frying, such as peanut, sunflower or canola
1 cup/150gm all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Black pepper and cayenne pepper, to taste
½ cup/125ml cold beer
½ cup/125ml cold sparkling water
Tuck a sliver of cheese and small piece of anchovy gently into each flower. Put about three inches of oil in a skillet or wok. Heat the oil until it is very hot and shimmers.
In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne. Add the beer and soda water and combine with a wire whisk until the mixture is smooth and resembles thin pancake batter.
Dip one flower in the batter at a time. Hold the battered flower by its stem (at a slight angle so the filling doesn’t fall out) to drain off the excess batter. Slide the flower into the hot oil. After 10-15 seconds, turn the flower over in the oil with a slotted spoon. Cook until pale golden and crisp, about 30 seconds total. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towel. Repeat until all the flowers are cooked. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot.
Californian cook and cookbook author Rachel Lee has been living in Italy since 2001. She divides her time between Tuscany and Sicily.
