Zucchini Flowers

Those might not be easy to find in your regular grocery store. I picked them up at Signora Nicoletta's 'Schrebergaertli'. Those blooming flowers are full of zucchini flavor and with their delicate shape, they're almost melting on your tongue.

There's many ways you could prepare them. The next time I will try to fill them with ricotta before frying. For this first time, I went for a simple beer batter and then deep-fried in peanut oil. Serve them as an appetizer or maybe even as a main dish if they're filled.



for 2 people as an appetizer:


Ingredients:

about 10 zucchini flowers
60 g (2,5 oz) flour
1 egg
1,5 dl (5 oz) beer
salt and pepper
peanut oil


Instructions:

Don't wash the zucchini flowers if you know they were organically grown, otherwise, be very gentle when you wash them. Clean the stems by slightly peeling off the outer skin which is very rough and somewhat itchy.

Prepare the batter by mixing egg yolk, flour, beer, salt and pepper. Whip the egg white seperately first, then mix it into the batter.

Heat the peanut oil in a large pot and test the temperature by dropping a tiny bit of batter in it. If it starts bubbling right away, your oil is hot enough to start deep frying.

Dip one zucchini flower at a time into the batter and place into the hot oil. Flip the flower once after about 10 seconds. It should be slightly brown, but not too dark. You can probably deep fry up to three flowers at a time, depending on the size of your pot. Put the finished fried flowers aside onto a kitchen paper for the oil to drain a bit.

Sprinkly some extra salt and pepper on top if necessary and enjoy!

The preparation of this dish reminds somewhat of tempura, which is another fun and social dish.