Zucchini flowers

July 10, 2010  •  Category:

 

Tonight we had a visit of relatives, one of those early evening visits as was customary in Lebanon in the olden days, when people paid each other impromptu visits. I knew the visitors were all our cousins, just had no idea how; I asked one of the visitors,  Selim, a former judge known  for his rigorous mind, to explain it  to me; he drew a quick diagram going back four generations; the neat thing about all this is that a lot of these cousins (like us) still own homes and come back every summer to  Deir el-Kamar, a small village of  1800 people, formerly capital of Mount Lebanon.


Everybody is feeling the same attachment to one’s roots.

Which brings me to these zucchini blossoms; I had seen them on numerous blogs but finally when I saw them on Peters site, his explanation on how to prepare them was so thorough, I knew I had no more excuses!

INGREDIENTS:

  • A basketful of zucchini flowers
  • 2 cups of assorted cheeses (I used feta and grated mozzarella-if using feta, desalt it by soaking it in water and changing the water several times until it is not too salty)
  • 1 small grated onion
  • 1 tablespoon of prepared pesto or a couple of tablespoons of chopped basil and a bit of garlic mashed up
  • 2 egg whites
  • For the batter: 2 cups of flour, dash of salt, pepper, paprika, and one bottle of beer
  • canola oil for frying (or other veg. oil)

METHOD:

  1. Pluck the pistils out of the flowers and place the flowers in a bowl of water.
  2. Rinse and dry the flowers well with a towel; in a bowl, place the cheeses and grated onion, pesto, egg whites and mix well.
  3. In a bowl, place the flour, spices and enough beer (or club soda) to obtain a loose batter, not too thick not too thin.
  4. Using a small spoon, insert a tablespoon of cheese stuffing in each flowers; close up the flower by twisting the top.
  5. Heat the oil in a frying skillet; dip the blossoms in the batter then fry for a few minutes in the hot oil till light golden.
  6. Drain on paper towels. Serve right away.




Comments

43 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. fimère says:

    je suis comme toi j’ai vu cette recette se répondre partout dans les blogs mais je n’en ai jamais essayé
    en voyant tes photos ça me donne drôlement envie
    bonne soirée

  2. peter says:

    ..and the deliciousness continues! Those blossoms with the tops attached look so good! I have another dish that uses the zucchini tops (attached to the blossoms).

    Thank you for the link-luv, enjoy the bounty of the garden!

  3. Stella says:

    Nice Joumana! I love stuffed squash blossoms (yellow or zucchini). The story of your cousins and that town sounds so romantic too. I only wish I knew my cousins that far out in the family tree. Amazing!

  4. Katie @Cozydelicious says:

    I adore fried squash blossoms. They scream summer to me. Your pictures are just beautiful and are making my mouth water!

  5. Tim Vidra says:

    I love these stuffed with goat cheese!

  6. FOODESSA says:

    My excuse Joumana is…a good one…are you ready…my mother-in-law would be heart broken if her son would prefer mine over hers ;o) I’m not kidding. For the last 24 years I stay clear of making anything she makes. I want her to keep her specialties and I have mine. After all…she makes them as good as my ‘Nonno’ used to make them. I really cherish these memories and I also love my mommy-in-law dearly.

    I do wonder however…how different would you think your flowers are from our Italian zucchini? In truth…I always pick the Arabic ones over ours anytime. SHHH…it’s our secret ;o)

    Good for you for trying them out…they look delish ;o)

    Ciao bella…and flavourful wishes,
    Claudia

  7. Sarah Galvin (All Our Fingers in the Pie) says:

    I love making stuffed zucchini flowers. I am hoping that I will find them here at the farmer’s market. You have such interesting family history.

  8. Gloria says:

    Dear, I never try zucchini flowers but I know are awesome and delicious, these look fantastic!

  9. Emmanuelle says:

    I love zucchini flowers! These fritters are a much-loved appetizer on the French Riviera too, especially in the area around Nice where I grew up.

    I just wanted to mention that zucchini flowers are very delicate – they will start wilting hours after being picked. You definitely want to prepare them the same day.

    They’re finicky little critters, but so delicious that it’s all worth it in the end!

  10. Susan says:

    I made them for the first time last summer and loved them but this recipe sounds even better than the one I tried. I love the sound of the pesto in the mix! My zucchini plants are pumping out lots of flowers right now…time to give this a try.

  11. Katerina says:

    I love when we visit my father’s home village for summer vacations and people pass by our house to say to us the relation connecting them with my family. In such small communities almost all members are relatives. Zucchini blossoms are excellent. You can stuff them with almost anything. These look great.

  12. Cherine says:

    This looks scrumptious!! Love it!

  13. john@heneedsfood says:

    Delicious! Zucchini flowers stuffed with anything are simply stupendous

  14. T.W. Barritt says:

    While I’ve seen zucchini flowers in restaurants and on the plant, I’ve never quite seen them attached to the zucchini before! The cheese filling looks luscious!

  15. oum mouncifrayan says:

    coucou, je suis de retour sur les blogs après les vacances!!!merci pour ce joli partage!

  16. Jamie says:

    This is absolutely my favorite way to eat zucchini flowers but sadly I get them rarely as they just don’t sell them in Nantes! Yours are mouthwateringly perfect!

  17. Joanne says:

    I love being with family…even if I have no idea how we’re actually related. It’s definitely fun to spend the time figuring out who the brother of the uncle of your grandmother’s sister is!

    The zucchini flowers look fantastic. Definitely crowd pleaser!

  18. Angie's Recipes says:

    Love zucchini flowers….these are a great beer accompaniment.

  19. pierre says:

    a paris impossible de trouver des fleurs de courgettes : on n’en trouve que dans le Sud !! Pierre

  20. Chiara says:

    you have a wonderful blog ! photos and recipes really nice!

  21. SYLVIA says:

    It is woderful to meet and connect with long lost and distant family members, the house will be a center of activity with a steady stream of visitors welcoming you, and share old memories is such an integral part of summer vacations when your visiting your loved ones, how some customs never change.
    These zucchini flower are so tasty, gorgeous cheeses oozing out the sides, its mouth watering, I can hardly wait to make them,

  22. elra says:

    Such a delicious treat Joumana, wish I have basket of this zukes flower right now 🙁

  23. tobias cooks! says:

    I envy you for those. I cant find them here easily.

  24. Magdalena says:

    Zucchini flowers is something that I love from all my heart…but unfortunately, it is very difficult to get them here, and in Paris, too. Practically, I can enjoy them only in some restos serving Italian food; I have never made them at home… looks fantastic. have a nice Sunday…

  25. Nadji says:

    C’est ce que j’ai ramassé hier dans un jardin : des fleurs de courgettes.
    Elles sont encore dans le frigo et ta version me plait beaucoup.
    A bientôt.

  26. Marina says:

    I would love to share a few tips about the zucchini blossoms; do prefer the male flowers to the female ones, ya3ne the ones that end to the stem, and not those that end to the zucchini. To recognize them, the male ones are open at the top and very tender, ideal to be stuffed, bl 3akess the female ones are harder and not as flexible, they break easily.
    If you can, do pick them out 🙂
    There’s many stuffing versions in the greek cuisine, some include mint, some don’t, many with different kinds of cheese (depending on the region that the recipe comes from and what of cheese is produced over there), and the classical one with rice, onion, tomato, spearmint, black pepper & paprika, or just rice, onion, pepper & lots of mint.

  27. Mathai says:

    They look lovely! I’m sure they taste great too 🙂

  28. Grapefruit says:

    I never knew zucchini flowers had any utility whatsoever and am always tossing them away. This is why I love your blog – learn something wonderful every time!
    Btw I tagged you for the versatile blogger award (on my blog)

  29. Faith says:

    I’ve seen these around too and I’ve been wanting to make them. The cheese filling in yours sound so delicious I’m going to ask my mom to save me some of the flowers from her zucchini plant so I can give these a try!

  30. Esther Cervantes says:

    I think I’ll have to let these instructions inspire me, too. There are plenty of squash blossoms at our farmers market right now.

  31. shayma says:

    i love stuffed zucchini blossoms- and now i know the Lebanese way.

  32. TastyTrix says:

    Ah, you made the zucchini flowers! Aren’t they good? I haven’t stuffed them yet, I just love their taste so much. But I want to! Sadly I can’t just reach outside and pluck them – have to get up insanely early on a weekend, so every blossom has to count! I will do this next time, it looks so amazing.

  33. mylittleexpatkitchen says:

    Just perfect! Love zucchini flowers, in Greece we make them *all the time*.
    Love the first photograph of the village!
    Magda

  34. Stacey Snacks says:

    I posted these stuffed zucchini blossoms on my site last week.
    They are my favorite summer treat!
    So special. We stuffed them w/ ricotta cheese and herbs and lightly sauteed them.
    DELISH!

  35. Marina says:

    3ala rassi 7abibte, walaw? 🙂
    It’s not a big wisdom really, it’s mostly the kind of things that you’ll either discover on your own after cooking them alone for one too many times, or you’ll be lucky enough to have your sweet grandmother share her own experience with you and teach you from the start 🙂

  36. Koko says:

    I see zucchini blossoms everywhere, and man, how I would love to try them! Yours look so delicious.

  37. Kitchen Butterfly says:

    I love zucchini blossoms, and I love the pesto too! Beautiful photos

  38. Cara says:

    I have been intrigued by zucchini flowers lately, and I’m totally watching my garden and hoping I can get enough to make it worth trying!

  39. Lea Ann says:

    I love reading your blog. I’m learning so much about what seems like a very far away place to me.

    I’ve been wanting to make stuffed squash blossoms for years. Had them once in restaurant and they were delicious.

  40. domi says:

    Nous avons de nouveau une recette ( presque pareille ) en commun, en effet il y a une semaine j’ ai pour la première fois fait des fleurs de courgettes avec de la mozza. Comme je n’ en avais vu nul part je pensais ( encore une fois ) que…mais une fois de plus tu y avais penser avant…moi. Tu vois je te l’ ai dit ton blog me fait penser au mien par bien des points. Je pense qu’ il est inutile de te dire que ta recette est délicieuse tu le sais déjà. Je vais la postée aujourd’ hui pour que tu vois….mais bien sûr elle est un peu différente ( beaucoup même ) mais l’ idée est là, gros bisous et à +

  41. Andres says:

    Very nice blog post. I certainly love this website.
    Thanks!

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