Stuffed Squash Blossoms
Our very own CSA member Emily C. offers up her strategy for stuffing squash blossoms for the vegan or non-vegan alike! Follow along! She took all of these photos. *Swoon*
INGREDIENTS:
Squash blossoms
Cheese or cheese alternative of your choosing
Extra flavoring (ex.: minced dried porcini mushroom, lemon zest, aleppo pepper, herbs)
Flour, all-purpose or gluten-free
Liquid (sparkling water, beer, or still water)
Vegetable oil, to fry
Salt
PROCESS:
The obvious thing to do with squash blossoms is stuff them and fry them--and for good reason. For the stuffing, a ricotta, queso blanco, or goat cheese would work well, but I’m vegan, so I used Kite Hill almond ricotta. You could even make your own. You’ll want around 1 tablespoon of cheese per blossom. To make things more interesting, I added a little bit of minced dried porcini mushroom (approximately 1-2 teaspoons), zest of half a lemon, and aleppo pepper. You could season it any way that sounds good to you, though--get creative!
To fill the blossoms, I find it works best to use kitchen shears to snip a slit along one side so you can open up the bloom without too much unnecessary tearing. Add a spoonful of filling and gently press the blossom down to close. Prepare all the blossoms before getting ready to fry.
Make a basic batter consisting of flour (which could be gluten free), water (ideally carbonated--even La Croix could work--or beer), and salt. The ratio is something like 5 parts flour to 6 parts liquid, plus a pinch of salt. Heat some oil in a heavy pan--it doesn’t need to be deep, but there should be a pool of oil coating the surface. Dredge each stuffed blossom in the batter, gently shake off any excess, and place into the hot pan. It should sizzle. You can fry a few at a time, but don’t crowd the pan. Use a spatula to turn the blossoms after a minute or two, checking to see that the cooked side is golden brown. Keep turning until there’s no raw batter on the blossom, then place on some paper towels to drain any excess oil. Continue until all blossoms are fried to crispy golden perfection. If not eating right away, pop them in the oven or toaster oven to crisp up.
Best guess on the batter math for 10 blossoms: 6 Tbsp + 2 tsp flour, pinch of salt, and ½ cup liquid. I started with 1 Tbsp flour per blossom and had a little too much extra.
