Stuffed Squash Blossoms
Turn your zucchini into something different and delicious
Photo by Susan Laughlin
As mid-summer heat turns to late-summer heat, the gardens continue to put forth bounty. And nothing is more plentiful than the zucchini. You can nip that plant in the bud by harvesting the blossoms and enjoying them stuffed with ricotta cheese, as suggested by Teresa Downey of Chichester. If you are fresh out of blossoms, you may be able find them via terrabasics.com, Downey’s online farm store.
— Susan Laughlin
Stuffed Squash Blossoms
The blossoms and filling
12 opened squash blossoms
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/4 cup (or 6 blossoms) fresh bee balm, chopped (Use either red bee balm, Monarda didyma or pink/purple bee balm. Monarda fistulosa can also be used.)
1 tablespoon or a few sprigs of fresh lemon thyme, chopped
1 egg Avocado oil for frying
The batter (Adjust as needed if you prefer a thicker or lighter batter.)
1 cup flour
1 cup water (or a pilsner beer)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
Combine the cheese, herbs and egg and mix well. Gently open blossoms, remove stamens and fill with cheese mixture. Twist the blossom top closed. Repeat until all are filled.
Heat 2 inches of oil in a frying pan.
Mix ingredients together for the batter.
Dip each stuffed blossom into the batter, letting the excess drip off, and then immediately place into the hot oil.
Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.
Serve over rice for a main dish or as a side dish.
Serve with a garden salad sprinkled with nasturtiums, borage, red Amaranth flower or other organically grown flower petals such as roses, calendula, broccoli flowers or arugula.
Enjoy!
About Terra Basics
Teresa Downey founded Terra Basics in 2017 as a family business. With over 30 years of gardening experience and a passion of environmental advocacy, Downey and her husband Tom cultivated the land into sustainable USDA organic gardens, where she now grows healthy edible flowers and herbs, and markets them to the general public and local restaurants to add beauty and a local touch to plated dishes. Find fresh edible flower mixes, floral jellies, fresh and dried herbs, and tinned teas at terrabasics.com and the Barnstead Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. She also offers an all-natural laundry soap scented with floral or woodsy essential oils.
Terra Basics
Chichester, NH
(603) 234-1677
terrabasics.com
