Description
A surprisingly light and scrumptious recipe for fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and chives.
Ingredients
Scale
- 12–13 zucchini blossoms; delicately rinsed and stamens removed*
- 6 ounces goat cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives + blossoms (reserved)
- 1 red chili pepper; halved, seeded, minced, and divided in half
- Zest of ½ lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups good white wine or sparkling water
- Peanut oil
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- Start by mixing the goat cheese, chopped chives, ½ of the minced chili pepper, lemon zest, and salt and pepper together. Taste for seasonings.
- Put this mixture into a piping bag or make a homemade one by scooping it into a small plastic bag and snip the corner off to make a hole. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour and wine/sparkling water together with a whisk. Add a pinch of salt to the mixture. It should be a creamy consistency – sort of like heavy cream. If it’s too thick, add more liquid. If it’s too runny, add more flour.
- Whisk until smooth. Set aside.
- Start filling the zucchini blossoms with a scant teaspoon or so of the goat cheese mixture. Be gentle about it so they don’t tear unnecessarily. Press the petals tightly against the goat cheese so they are closed into bundles. Repeat with the rest.
- Fill a large saucepot with about 4-5 inches of peanut oil over medium-high heat. Once it hits around 350 degrees, it’s ready. Or, what I usually do is check to see if tiny bubbles are starting to come up to the surface.
- Set aside a dish lined with paper towels for the fried zucchini blossoms to drain.
- Working in batches of 3-4 zucchini blossoms at a time, dunk them in the batter until fully coated, drip off the excess and lay them gently, away from you, into the hot oil. Let them get crispy and lightly golden brown, turning them around every now and again with a slotted spoon to fry them evenly; about 3-4 minutes.
- Let them drain on the paper towel-lined dish. Repeat with the rest of the zucchini blossoms.
- Lastly, as a garnish add the chive blossoms to the oil and let fry for a few seconds. Take them out and scatter over zucchini blossoms. Sprinkle salt and the rest of the minced chili peppers over the hot zucchini blossoms. Serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
*If you’ve never worked with zucchini blossoms before, don’t be alarmed. I found it easiest to clean them by running cool water gently over them. The pressure of the water will coax the petals open, making it quick work of snipping the stamen right off. It’s okay if some of the petals rip apart – you will be able to adhere it to the goat cheese mixture anyway keeping it closed.
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins