What could be more normal than frying flowers?
Zucchini appears to be bullet proof for most gardeners but not me. Apparently I have a black thumb for zucchini.
Last year, while other gardeners at the community garden plots had so much zucchini they were giving it away, my plants fell victim to some sort of virus or fungus and collapsed in a big heap of rotted leaves. This year my zucchini plants seem to be generally languishing, and don't look like they're going to present me with zucchini, or even zucchini flowers, anytime soon.
It's the zucchini flowers I'm looking for. I've heard people rhapsodize over fried zucchini flowers for years and years and I've never had them. Because they're so perishable zucchini flowers are not the sort of thing you see in supermarkets, and I rarely have seen them at either of the farmer's markets I go to. Just grow your own zucchini, I thought to myself, you'll have an endless supply.
That was before I realized I had the zucchini black thumb.
A few weeks ago one of the vendors at the farmer's market began showing up with flowers with tiny zucchini attached (those would be the female flowers) and yesterday showed up with male flowers. Thinking that if I want to sample zucchini flowers I should just go ahead and spend my money because there's no telling whether or not my zucchini flowers will ever come through for me, I paid $2 for 7 flowers.
I brought my little bag of flowers home, opened Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, and followed her instructions for
Crisp-Fried Zucchini Blossoms
1 cup water
2/3 cup or more of flour
Vegetable oil
Male zucchini blossoms
Salt
1. Wash the blossoms rapidly under cold running water without letting them soak. Pat them gently but thoroughly dry with a paper towel. If the stems are very long, cut them down to one inch. Make a cut on one side of each blossom's base so you can lay the flower flat. I also removed the pistil as The Classic Italian Cookbook instructs but I notice that the recipe in Classic Italian Cooking does not include this instruction.
2. Make the batter: Put 1 cup of water in a soup plate, and gradually add the 2/3 cup of flour by shaking it through a strainer, while beating the water/flour mixture with a fork. Per Marcella, the batter should have the consistency of sour cream when you are finished. If not, add more flour or water to achieve it. I used a full cup of flour and ended up with a batter the consistency of heavy cream which is what I went with.
3. Add enough oil to a frying pan to measure 3/4 of an inch deep and turn the heat to high. When the oil is very hot, use the blossom's stem to dip them in the batter and then into the skillet. Add only as many blossoms to the skillet as will fit loosely. When the blossom is golden brown on one side, turn and cook until golden brown on the other side. Transfer to a cooling rack set over a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.
Note: a good way to test whether or not the oil is hot enough is to drop a teaspoonful of the batter into the oil and see if it sizzles right away.
The texture was lovely, crispy yet gossamer. But the flavor was... indiscernible. The only flavor I picked up was fried -- which was fine. Fried is a good flavor. But I puzzled over what this means. Did I have deficient zucchini blossoms? Do I have deficient taste buds?
I'll probably try the zucchini flowers again to see if my first impression was right. Of course, there's a good side to not falling completely in love with fried zucchini blossoms -- it's not like I need to be eating large amounts of fried anything.
Oh, how cool. I love these things. I had them for the first time in Italy when I was about 22 and I had dreams about them ever since. Bravo!
Posted by: angela | June 20, 2006 at 06:55 PM
Too bad. Fried zucchini blossoms are definitely something I've wanted to try but have no expectation of being able to anytime soon. At least now I'll know not to hold my breath.
Still impressed with your frying capabilities.
Posted by: littlebouffe | June 20, 2006 at 10:51 PM
If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to fry some flowers when you're there...
Posted by: discount family oracle online | June 20, 2006 at 11:37 PM
These look yummy. Did you try them w/ apricot jam ? It makes them very good especially if ou heat the jam 1st. Did you give some to Jack the food tasting dog?
I have to say that my heart felt for the dog. Dog food is bland looking and tastes like dog food.
When you have a good cook under your roof there is no reason to be eating dog food. He could give reviews in our blog . Just a thought.
Posted by: the bee | June 21, 2006 at 02:54 AM
I'm with the bee. I think we should have an independent food reviewer ... Jack. He could include ease of access.
Is $2 for 7 flowers expensive? We're paying $7 for 2 bananas.
Bananas are like gold in Australia at the moment.
Posted by: Cazza | June 21, 2006 at 07:28 AM
Angela - I need to try them again. Mine seemed to be mostly about texture. I loved the fact that they were so delicate they were like crispy air but I wouldn't say there was a lot of flavor there.
littlebouffe - most people seem to adore them. I'm now anxious to try them again and see if my first impression holds.
DFO, always with the good advice. Thanks.
Bets, I don't know if you'd want to take Jack's advice on things because he's not too discerning. If it's food he'll eat it. And even if it's not food he may eat it.
Cazza - $7 for 2 bananas! Holy hell, they are like gold! I don't know if $2 for 7 blossoms was a good price or not because I've never priced them before. But seven flowers made a whole plate of fried zucchini blossoms which were enough for two people.
Posted by: Julie | June 21, 2006 at 10:57 AM
Almost too pretty to eat! Love your adjectives! Perhaps a fine olive oil would help the flavor?
My kiddos are cooking from a French cookbook this summer. Salad Nicoise is tonight's dinner.
Posted by: bonnie | June 21, 2006 at 12:21 PM
Bonnie, salad nicoise sounds like a nice summer evening's dinner. I'm impressed your children are making it. I hope you post about their cooking sometime.
Posted by: Julie | June 21, 2006 at 06:27 PM
Let's face it, zucchini doesn't have much flavor. Fried zucchini tastes like whatever the batter and the oil it was fried in tastes like; zucchini bread tastes of all the ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini. I'm probably making myself unpopular here, but I've always thought the zucchini was an overrated vegetable. It doesn't even have much to offer in the way of nutrients.
So I'm not surprised that the blossoms didn't taste like much, just sorry you went to all that trouble and expense.
Posted by: Rebecca | June 21, 2006 at 08:53 PM
IMHO, the blossoms are wa-aay more tasty than the zucchini itself. They are so good. Perhaps you got duds? Or maybe you just don't like em, of course.It could be that I'm just crazy...I love them.
While I adore them batter fried-especially stuffed with ricotta and herbs,but also plain, I think they are lovely in a chiffonade form in scrambled eggs, frittatas, quiches..on pasta.
The zucchini squash itself needs a lot of help, I do agree, to be interesting.It's too watery by half, unless it all gets squished out and concentrated, somehow.
Posted by: lindy | June 22, 2006 at 05:05 PM
I'm totally ignorant. I've never even heard of zucchini blossoms. Now I want to try them.
Posted by: Vanessa | June 22, 2006 at 08:53 PM
Rebecca - I agree with you that zucchini is sort of tasteless, although I think to a lot of people that's part of the zucchini's appeal. I am not that crazy about zucchini but not because of flavor -- it's the mushiness that turns me off.
Lindy - I need to try them again. It wasn't that I just didn't like them -- I liked their texture (the delicate crispy-shattery thing) a lot but the only flavor that was there was that of the batter and oil.
Next time I try them, I'm going to do something other than frying them. The pasta idea sounds good. Have you posted that recipe?
Vanessa - yes! try them and let me know what you think of the flavor.
Posted by: Julie | June 22, 2006 at 09:44 PM
last summer we house-sat a house with a kitchen garden. I was so excited about the zucchini flowers, and so dissapointed. they really are the most tasteless thing.They only taste of the stuffing and the fried batter. But so pretty!
Posted by: lobstersquad | June 23, 2006 at 05:31 AM
Ximena, I'm glad someone else thought the flowers didn't have much flavor -- now I know it's not totally my tastebuds. I still want to try them prepard another way just to give it a second chance. And you're right, they are pretty.
Posted by: Julie | June 23, 2006 at 05:34 PM
You're right, fried is not a bad flavour in the end, but still, what a disappointment!
Posted by: tejal | June 23, 2006 at 07:26 PM
CAZZA- i LIKE YOUR STYLE
JUJUBEE- ARE THEY GOOD IN A SALAD ?
Posted by: THE BEE | June 25, 2006 at 06:06 AM
tejal, it was a disappointment -- I'd read so many wonderful things about zucchini blossoms that I had very high hopes for them. And I still want to try them again, just to see if I feel differently about them on second tasting.
Bets, don't know whether or not they'd be good in salad. I'll have to try.
Posted by: Julie | June 25, 2006 at 06:00 PM
That looks delicious! Visiting from my pal Margaret's site. Love Baltimore. My folks are in NoVa.
Posted by: chatty | June 26, 2006 at 01:17 PM
Hi, Chatty -- always glad to hear about someone loving Baltimore. Thanks for stopping by.
Posted by: Julie | June 26, 2006 at 11:45 PM
My Sicilian uncle stuffs his zucchini flowers with a small sliver of mozzarella and a tiny strip of anchovy before twisting each blossom up, dredging it and frying it. They are a REVELATION.
Posted by: Luisa | June 30, 2006 at 06:42 AM
I've made zucchini blossoms twice so far this summer. They do have a very delicate flavor, but I really appreciate the texture (I like to leave the stamen/pistil/whatever intact, as well as the green base, snipping the stem close) and the ability to act as a vehicle.
I don't dredge mine, instead just stuffing with a bit of mozzarella (like the Sicilian uncle above). I've also added escarole for more greenery. Then just pan-fry in a small amount of oil. There's mostly a cheese flavor, but without the deep-fried oil and flour of, say, a mozzarella stick.
Posted by: Stefanie Noble | July 25, 2006 at 09:54 PM
Hi Julie,
It is always great to hear about someone when they discover zucchini flowers! As an American living in Italy I've been enjoying this great Italian secret for years.
Try frying them with less oil and use "good" olive oil at that. My wife just puts enough to cover the bottom of a skillet and then cooks them one side at a time.
The flavor is delicate and though the fried taste is there so is the flower flavor.
Keep trying!
Posted by: Michael | July 17, 2008 at 12:54 AM
Its looks very testy Fried Zucchini Flowers, ,I feel hungry to see that, let me have one, Thanks for share this Yummy article.
Posted by: Term Paper | January 14, 2010 at 07:34 AM
My mom's cousin made these all the time when I was a child, but instead of putting salt on them, she would instead sprinkle a little bit of sugar on them...I still can taste them. Yumm.
Posted by: KMBN | August 12, 2010 at 01:30 PM
ok, here's what I did (borrowed from the Soprano's Family Cookbook, which actually IS a cookbook!)
Batter is 1/3 all purpose flour, 1/3 cornstarch and 1/3 club soda, add salt and pepper to taste mix and let sit for one hour. The batter becomes rather pasty - but is DELICIOUS
Make sure the flowers don't have bugs. ALL 10 of mine had a litlle honey bee inside, I suspect the bees land to pollinate and the flower, sensing an irritant, closes. I just let bees go outside. (When I picked up the flower,it BUZZED!)
Flatten them out (I did NOT remove the stamens - I think that is where a lot of the flavor resides?)
cover them in batter
deep fry in veg oil until golden and drain on paper towel (for extra fun, I put a bit of ricotta cheese in a few, some leaked out, but I'm not Artie Bucco!)
My husband and kids LOVED them, they were gone in SECONDS. Anything but bland!
Posted by: lastofthezucchiniflowers | June 19, 2011 at 05:01 PM
Try them again, only this time stuff with Boursin cheese (room temp, put in a tiny baggie, clip corner and pipe into the flower), dip in egg wash, then lightly dredge in seasoned (your choice here. We like adding Mrs. Dash's Italian seasoning) flour, and lightly fry in a good olive oil. Delicioso! Often times I will saute small strands (1 - 2 inch) of thyme w/ the blossoms. You can also saute sage leaves. Let me know what you think!
Posted by: TravelDoc | June 30, 2011 at 11:42 AM
What about using an immersion blender for the hollandaise? Looks fab! Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: doudoune moncler | October 11, 2011 at 03:19 AM