Zucchini Flowers

Ingredients

Cream cheese, herb and lemon stuffed deep fried crispy zucchini flowers – enough for about 6 or 8 flowers.

Prepare the flowers – I use the male flowers (these have a thin stem compared to female flowers which have a thicker ‘stem’ which is the zucchini. Simply remove the stamen with a pair of scissors or tweezers. Wash and dry gently.

Method

Filling – Mix together the below with a spoon, and stuff about 1 teaspoon inside the flower then gently ‘twist’ the petals closed, these are now ready for the batter

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ a tub smooth cream cheese (115g)
• 1 teaspoon fresh finely chopped parsley
• 2 grinds of black pepper

Put a small pot on with about 5cm of oil for frying and heat the oil before making the batter. Once the oil is nearly hot, test with a piece of potato, it should start sizzling straight away, the oil should be hot but not smoking hot – 180 degrees, mix the batter gently in a small bowl (do not over mix) it should look like thin pancake batter

• ¼ cup sifted cake flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 90 ml soda water

Dredge the stuffed zucchini flowers in the batter and lay in the hot oil, turn half way through cooking and drain on a kitchen towel once golden which should just take a few minutes. Best eaten hot with home made tomato sauce, pesto, or a squeeze of lemon.