Fried Zucchini Flower Recipe

I was feeling quite overwhelmed by this monster of a garden on Saturday. I have been away three days a week for the last few weeks and things are quite out of control again. The tomatoes are in urgent need of attention as are the pumpkins. Zucchini vines and pumpkins are covered in mildew and my giant pumpkin has dissolved into a rotting mess. Not to mention the lawns need mowing, the edges need trimming, the cat heads are flourishing. I had hoped for a tidy, orderly garden by the time Katie and Jemima arrived but it is not to be. At least it is a productive mess. I was considerably cheered up by the very first decent eggplants I have ever grown.


Aren't they just beautiful. I don't know why they have failed to fruit in the past but this variety in particular is doing very well this year. The eggplants inspired me to make a sort of tasting plate for our dinner fresh from the garden. The beans have come good again so there were: beans with olive oil, garlic and preserved lemons, Toasted sourdough with tomatoes and basil, A thick tzatziki dip, chargrilled slices of eggplant and Fried Zucchini flowers. The Rond de nice Zucchinis have lasted well and are not as mildewed as the Black beauties.

This is my favourite way of doing Fried Zucchini flowers. The recipe is adapted from Marlena de Blasi's recipe. One of my favourite books is her story of falling in love and cooking in Venice. A Thousand Days in Venice. Books about food and love are my favourite things to read. I find I have no tolerance for violence and grim reality these days.
Anyway the Recipe goes like this.

1 1/2 cups of plain flour
2 cups of beer (i used Peter's home brew)
1/2 cup cold water
2 tsp salt

Beat together with a fork until smooth and then cover and let it sit for an hour or so
Add three ice cubes, stir again and leave sit for another half hour

In the meantime prepare your flowers, I also use this for herbs such as sage
Heat oil in a pan
Dip flowers in batter, fry in the pan until crisp and then drain on absorbent paper.
Serve immediately with a nice lemony aioli or mayonnaise.
There you go. yummy dinner, cheered me up no end and got me out in the garden on Sunday with renewed energy. 




Comments

Tracy said…
Yum. The tasting plate sounds delicious. It is such a greta and abundant time of the year in the garden.
March 7, 2011 at 12:13 PM
sharleigh.stevenson said…
I think it is lovely that you are tipping the balance back in favour of love and food! Don has high hopes for his giant pumpkin this year, but I'm putting money on the goats and/or the mildew getting to it before it reaches his dream weight. I'm going to try your recipe on button squash flowers and see how they go. The shape isn't as good as zucchini, and I will just feed it to Don if it doesn't work.
March 7, 2011 at 9:25 PM
Anne said…
I was so excited by my giant pumpkin, I found it lurking in the kikuyu which is knee high. I think that is what did it in, too much shade. Did you know you can use pumkin flowers instead of zucchini Sharleigh?
March 7, 2011 at 9:38 PM
sharleigh.stevenson said…
I never thought to try pumpkin flowers. I was a bit narrow-minded, having only ever used zucchini. I will have to scratch around and see what I can find. The kids love the giant pumpkins - they grow so quick and are so impressive. Ours never seem to get more than halfway before something takes them out.
March 10, 2011 at 12:27 PM
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