I was going to simply post the recipe for these fried beauties but then I realized I had a lot to say. I was brought up in an era when you ate what was on your plate whether you liked it or not. There was no... I DON'T LIKE THAT!!! I tried all kinds of different foods ...some I liked more than others. Today, I still love to try new things and I am grateful to my parents for forcing me to be more adventurous when it comes to food.
A lot of my closest friends are Italian and every year around this time, I always see at least one of them posting pictures of their beautiful fried zucchini blossoms. By the time I want to try this delicacy, I can never find them anywhere.
This year I joined Lufa Farms and am proud to call myself a Lufavore! Every week I receive a basket of fresh, local and responsible produce. This week I saw zucchini blossoms available on the Marketplace! Wooohooo...finally! I added them to my basket and I couldn't wait to pick up my order.
First thing this morning, I set out to make sure I cooked these beauties right. I figured I had one shot at it and I didn't want to mess it up. I posted a picture of my zucchini blossoms on FB an asked my Italian sisters how they prepared their blossoms.
I received very similar versions, all involving eggs, water and flour. One of my friends said her mom also used milk and another suggested sparkling water for fluffiness. I also did my online research and found some used only egg whites and others the whole egg. After studying the situation a bit I decided on the following mix for my batter:
- 1 cup of flour
- 1 cup of sparkling water
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of paprika ** just because
- 1 egg
Mix the ingredients until batter is smooth and then dip the washed and dried blossoms into the batter. I fried them in canola oil for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. I had started heating the oil on high while I prepped the blossoms.
After photographing and posting my GORGEOUS fried zucchini blossoms, I devoured them with my daughter...the adventurous one. They were yummy! I received a few comments that I found interesting. Some did not know what fried zucchini blossoms were, one suggested frying them like doughnuts and eating them with syrup ***OMG YES! And yet another mentioned her mother would stuff these beauties with mozzarella and anchovies...hello heaven! I am definitely going to make these again and I will most definitely be trying them both with maple syrup AND stuffed. To be continued...