Stuffed Squash Blossoms

My first encounter with squash blossoms was the summer I was working as an architectural intern in a small hill town, Borro, in Italy. The group of us were measuring and documenting the existing buildings of the village. In exchange for our labor we were provided with room and lunch cooked daily by a lovely older Italian woman, Graziella. What was typical for Italians was gourmet for us and regularly included freshly home-made pasta. I consumed many dishes that I had never eaten in my 22 years – gnocchi, rabbit, wild boar, and fried squash blossoms. It’s hard not to like fried dishes, but who would think to make and eat deep fried flowers in the first place? They were remarkably unique - delicate, light and crispy – not at all heavy like much battered food can be.

It was at least a dozen years before I encountered them again while dining with my mother at Hawthorne Lane in San Francisco. The meal was one of my most memorable restaurant meals to date and I believe it is because of the salad with stuffed squash blossoms that came with my prix fixe meal. Not only did it bring back memories of my meals that one summer, but having them stuffed also made them notably different. At first you encounter the crispiness of the delicate casing followed by the creaminess of the seasoned cheese. Since that evening I have been on a quest to find squash blossoms so that I could try making the dish for myself rather than having to hope they will turn up again on a restaurant menu. Year after year, I requested and was promised squash blossoms from my CSA while in CA, but disappointingly they never showed up in my box. I even recall being out for a walk one evening and seeing the flowers of the zucchini plant growing in the planting strip of the sidewalk. I was so tempted to abscond with them, but then thought better as I might be robbing someone of their rightful treat.

It wasn’t until arriving in Philadelphia that I managed to get a hold of them. Last year I was able to purchase them through the buying club at Mugshots. I ordered them along with the local goat cheese from Apple Tree Goat Dairy. Success! I made my first batch of stuffed, beet batter fried blossoms and shared the bounty with friends. They were a big hit. This year I asked at the Manayunk Farmer’s market if they would be selling them. The woman at the Henry’s Got Crops stand seemed pleasantly surprised someone was asking for them. She said they would have some the following week. Well, clearly someone else has a penchant for these flowers as for the next two weeks they were all sold before I made it to the market. By the third week, they nicely saved a bunch on the side for me.

The summer squash production has been unusually long this year. Typically by this time, they are finished for the season. So I was thrilled when Jenn, my employer, asked if I would like some of the blossoms from her home garden. Last night I made what I am guessing will be my final batch of stuffed blossoms until next summer. Knowing that, makes them even more delectable. I served them over a bed of baby spinach with sliced heirloom tomatoes, a light grating of parmesan, chopped parsley, and juice of half a lemon. It’s a full meal just like that.

Here’s the recipe I have been using:

http://homecooking.about.com/od/vegetablerecipes/r/blv261.htm

And here are some additional tips:

- The stamen is edible in the blossom along with the rest of the flower, so need to worry about removing it.

- It works well if you leave the stem on as it functions nicely as a handle when coating it in the batter.

- It also works best if you fill the flower by using a pastry bag as it is so delicate. I don’t have a pastry bag so I just use a Ziploc bag with the tip cut off.

- Coat the flower just lightly with the batter and shake off excess before frying . That helps keep it from getting too heavy

- Don’t bother to go out of your way to procure celery salt – it tastes good without it.

- I eliminated the cream cheese and used all goat cheese as it was simpler and better tasting.

- Try using peanut oil for the frying in place of vegetable oil (it’s supposed to be the best oil for high temperature cooking)

- Try frying the extra batter like a funnel cake - just drizzle it into the oil at the end. I added some seasoning, cayenne and cumin, to the batter before doing so. It makes a wonderful crispy snack. I learned this one from Sam.