I was really excited when I saw these beautiful courgette flowers (that’s zucchini flowers for my Aussie readers) at the farmer’s market near my work on Friday. It was a beautiful spring day so I felt it would be criminal to walk past them.
In an ideal world I would have lightly battered and deep-fried these beauties, but I don't have a deep-fryer and I was worried about ruining them, so I decided to pan-fry them instead. The result was delicious, but quite different from what you might expect if you have ever ordered them in a restaurant. I managed to get a little crisp on them, but nothing like a batter and they were much more delicate to handle when they came out of the pan. I still highly recommend them though.
Serves two as a starter (or light lunch if you make a salad to go with it).
Ingredients
50g spinach, fresh or frozen
75g feta cheese
125g soft goat’s cheese round
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 x courgette flowers
Light olive oil or rapeseed oil, for brushing and frying
Cornflour, for dusting
Method
If using fresh spinach, chop fine and put in a mixing bowl. If using frozen, thaw and put in a sieve and squeeze out the excess water, then put in a mixing bowl.
Break the feta into the bowl, add the goat’s cheese and mix together. Season with pepper to taste.
Gently open the courgette flowers at the top and fill with mixture. It is easiest to do this with your fingers rather than a teaspoon. Make little balls and push to the bottom. When filled squeeze the top to seal.
Heat some oil (enough to coat the base generously) in a frying pan over a medium-high heat.
Put the cornflower in a wide bowl or on a plate. Baste the flowers with oil with a basting brush. Roll the courgette flowers in the cornflour so they are coated, but brushing off any excess flour.
Fry the flowers on each side until golden or browning (approximately 2 minutes).
