Zucchini flowers - a recipe for aperitivo
Zucchini flowers - when you see them around at the grocer or the market it seems like a chance encounter, a rare moment that only happens every now and then. When you stumble upon the very green, very petite looking vegetable you remember, oh yes I love you. I loved you last spring and I will love you again every chance I get this season until you leave me during the early summer, and then, like always I will wait for you to come back around next year.
They are not cheap but they can be cooked for a special moment with loved ones. Last night I fried them in a bubbly batter - I was going to use soda water to thicken the batter to a double cream consistency but realised I had none. I found a single beer at the back of the fridge and used that instead to aerate the batter. A bit of flour, a bit of bubbly liquid, some salt, mix mix mix. Heat the oil. A very small chunk of parmesan perched on the shelf of my fridge looked willing to play a part in this assembly. A tin of anchovies lying around? Perfect. Place a piece of parmesan and a salty anchovy fillet inside the petals, twist shut then dredge the whole thing into the batter and fry away. Maybe open the window? They come together so quickly and are eaten just as frenziedly. I think the best way to eat them is as an aperitivo snack with a squeeze of lemon and some flakey salt. The parmesan and anchovy melt into each other becoming one; the crisp batter is so light and crunchy.
Make them just before you want to eat them, then sip on some wine, maybe put out a few olives and other little snacks (could specifically include a plate of blanched broad beans and ricotta too).
Another thing I have done with zucchini flowers is a simple plate of John Dory crudo. I poured over a beautiful persimmon vinegar to lightly cure the fish, shaved over the baby zucchini stem and laid over torn pieces of the zucchini flowers. A very different way to eat zucchini flowers but very fresh and delicious.
It seems silly to even write this as a recipe since it is so simple but here is a brief process to make a plate full of fried zucchini flowers -
You will need -
As many zucchini flowers as you want (two per person with some other snacks would be a good amount)
A small wedge of parmigiano-reggiano
A tin of anchovies in olive oil
1 1/2 cups plain flour (I only had tipo 00 flour in my pantry so that is what I used and it worked well)
A bottle of beer or soda water (you won’t need to use all of it)
Neutral oil for frying
Salt
Lemon
The method -
Place the flour in a bowl and season with about a teaspoon of salt.
Slowly whisk the beer/soda into the flour until you create a batter the consistency of thickened cream (you won’t need to use all the liquid).
Very gently pry open a small section of the petals just a tiny bit to remove the stamen from the inside.
Break off a small chunk of the parmigiano cheese and place it inside the zucchini flower petals, followed by an anchovy fillet. Gently twist up the top of the petals to close it shut.
Heat the oil - you can tell it is hot enough to fry in when you place a piece of bread in the oil and you see lots of little bubbles form around the bread and they start to float upwards - remove the bread.
Once the oil is hot, drag the zucchini flowers one at time through the batter, allow the excess to drip off, then slide the flower into the hot oil. Repeat this process with the remaining flowers but do not overcrowd the pan. Fry on each side for a couple of minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Remove them from the oil and drain the crisp flowers on a rack or over paper towel. Season with flakey salt and serve with a wedge of lemon on the side.