Pan-fried zucchini flowers
I mentioned zucchini flowers last week, but for got to take a picture of them then, which gave me a perfect excuse to go back this week and buy some more. Of course if you are lucky enough to grow your own zucchini (or courgettes, for the British folks out there), you have a free source of these delicacies right in your own back yard.
There is little on this earth that tastes better than a pan-fried zucchini flower, at least in my experience. Luckily they are easy to make (finding the flowers is usually the hard part for me).
First, carefully wash the flowers inside and out. On a plate, prepare a mixture of flour with a little salt and pepper (a pinch of sugar is optional, and adds an interesting flavor). In a shallow bowl, place either a lightly scrambled raw egg or some soy milk. The egg is the traditional ingredient here, but I’ve found that replacing it with soy milk makes for a great dish, too, allowing the flavor of the flowers to shine through more.
Wet each flower in the egg or soy milk and then lightly coat with the flour mixture. Pan fry the flowers in olive oil over medium-high heat, allowing them to lightly brown on each side. Remove the flowers from the pan and drain them briefly on paper towels before serving hot (that is, immediately). Yum yum yum yum yum.
I’ve never thought of eating the flowers before. Hmmm, I might have to try this. Are there any other flowers that you recomend?
it is very common here in italy, there are several versions in ours regions, one recipe have a little piece of “mozzarella” and one alice (anchovy?) inside. The mozzarella will fuse inside the flower and it should be eaten a few seconds after it is fried (but beware of the hot
I have veggy frieds so I will try this recipe 
You can add a few (really a few) beer to the “pastella” (flour misture) to make it lighter (more air inside it). The right flowers to use are the one without the “zucchina” (male flowers), you can still use the flowers attached to the zucchina (female flowers), but the male one are better 
sorry for my english, i am not good to speak it, but i can eat in every language
Activist Mommy – good question! I can’t think of any other flowers I eat, but I’d love to hear if anyone else has suggestions.
Mario – parli benissimo l’inglese! Ho capito tutto. Non sapevo che siano i fiori maschili e femminili – grazie per l’informazione.
Activist Mommy & Jul – there are several other uhmm “flowers” we regularly eat, but some of them are not easily recognized as flowers. May be some of them aren’t so common outside italy…
One is the Artichoke, which is really a great plant, very good when cooked and full of goodies under the salutist view (I saw literaly miles and miles of artichoke plants in california . someone have to eat artichoke there ehehe)
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynara_scolymus)
Broccoli is another one where we eat the flowers.
The more… strange (odd?) flowers i eat was a recipe with rice and rose’s petals…
There are really a lot you can eat using plants
bye bye
I tried zucchini blossoms for the first time about a month ago. I had read about them and was keep an eye open at the farmer’s market … and there they were! They were horribly expensive, but I bought them anyway and served them with a ton of other dishes. But they were delicious; totally worth the price. I’d buy them again in a heartbeat.
Cheers!
I’m growing zucchini for the first time and my question is, how do you know when you can pick the the blossoms? A few of the blossoms have fallen off the growing zucchini and they seemed to stop growing. I don’t know if the two are related, or if it’s just coincidence.
I live in Mexico. Zucchini flowers are a regular quesadilla filler here. They also eat dandilions.
Yum! Zucchini flower quesadillas sound awesome.
@Jackie
you can use the flowers attached to the growing zucchini, but the best are the flowers without the zucchini, the “male” flowers.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Zucchini_flower.jpg
You can get the flowers as soon as they are completely opened, like in that image. Normally the flowers are perfect for a couple of days, than they die….
@all
another very interesting flower we eat is “capperi”. We use the blossom before it become a full flower. This week I went in a short vacation in a greek island (Tilos) and they served me capperi’s leaf , first time I eat the leaf, and they are really interesting, i will investigate more
I am currently growing zucchini in my yard. The plants look beautiful and the flowers are just beginning to bloom. I was wondering if there was any way that I could preseve the flowers and save them for another time (can I freeze them or anything). I know that they go bad about 2 days after they fully open so I need to pick them. Thanks!
my mother always froze the zucchini flowers,
pick them, wash them in and out gently, lay on a cookie sheet lined
with wax paper, freeze. once frozen take off wax paper and bag
use them within 2 months. because they are no longer fresh stuffing
them will probably not work, but dip in egg and flour or a batter
and deep fry
nonna did it all the time.
I have been frying zucchini flowers for decades
dusted with flour then in egg mixture with cheese, garlic,fresh mint, parsley s&p. Is it true you take out bulb inside? My Barese Mamma said to leave it inside. Also when making frittata with the flowers, must you sautee them first?
Where can I buy zucchini flowers?
Marie, they are available in my area (California) in the Summer months, when the zuchinis are flowering. You might try to contact someone with your local farmer’s market or health food store to see when they are available in your area.