Fried Squash Blossoms

July 21, 2009.   10 Comments.   Categories Appetizers, Chef Rocco Hanson - Oui Cook, Contributing Chefs, Seasonal Vegetables, Summer, Vegetarian.   Tags , , , , , .

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Rocco and Aimee Hanson own a wonderful and inventive culinary company called Oui Cook in Mendocino, California. Describing them as caterers or even as chefs just does not do them justice.  What they really do is create an ambiance for your event or private dinner that includes wonderfully prepared food.  I have first hand experience with Oui Cook.  Over the last few years, my family has insisted on Rocco and Aimee for any of our private parties.

This year, they prepared all of the food for our July 4th party.  Coming from a long line of culinary control freaks, I appreciate Rocco’s creative flexibility if we have ideas for the menu.  We asked him to make some of our favorites as well as his specialties.  One of the most popular items that day was Rocco’s fried squash blossoms.  He has been making these for years and they are consumed faster than anything.

When squash blossoms are available, please try this recipe.  We opted to add bacon to this filling recipe and served with a tomato coulis.  There are many other variations you can make.

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Ingredients:

  • Zucchini squash blossoms

Blossom Filling:

  • 2 cups Ricotta
  • 1 cup high quality Parmesan
  • 1 egg
  • salt / pepper
  • 1 cup sweet white corn kernels

Batter:

  • 1.5 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup sparking mineral water

Tomato Coulis.

In a blender . . .

  • 10  tomatoes peeled and seeded
  • 2T  red wine vineagar
  • 2T sugar
  • 1T black pepper
  • 1C good tomato juice ( for color )
  • 3/4C good olive oil (slowly added )
  • 1/2C Chives
  • 1/2C Basil

Method:

Remove pistol from blossom

Cut stem to the desired length.

Cook corn in salted water and remove kernels from the cob

Mix Ricotta, egg, Parmesan cheese, and corn.  Using a piping bag, pipe the filling into each squash blossom (This step may be done a day in advance)

In a separate bowl, mix flour and mineral water and rest for ½ hour. You need to adjust consistency to how thick or thin you want the batter. I keep it really thin so that the focus is on the squash blossom.  Dip each blossom into the batter.  The batter will hold, just do not bunch blossoms up together…. Coat well, let some fall off.  Don’t make it too wet!

Heat olive oil – not to smoking point – and cook until golden. You may shallow fry or deep fry.You may also roast it in an oven with no batter or oil.  Place on platter and spoon tomato coulis over blossom.

 

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www.OuiCook.com • Rocco Hanson • Fan Us: Facebook.com/Oui-Cook

photos by John Birchard – www.birchardphoto.com

 

10 Comments

  1. This is an amazing recipe. Such a beauty to serve. Hope I can do it justice. Your instructions are very well written.

  2. While in Italy this summer, we had fried squash blossoms for the first time. They leave the little zucchini on the blossoms if they have female ones. They were great. If they are male blossoms, they are larger, but no little zucchino!
    At home, I’ve been using pumpkin blossoms. The male ones are huge, and great for stuffing. Taste super.

  3. Hello Barb and Tanya –
    Excellent questions.
    This recipe will stuff approximately 24 blossoms.
    Tanya, The texture for both is deliciously satisfying and I wouldn’t recommend one over the other. What I do recommend, though, is that you remove the “little zucchino” during the cleaning process.
    Thanks and happy cooking!
    – Aimee & Rocco Hanson

  4. This summer I have been seeing squash blossoms at most farmer markets and some stores . The difference is that some are females, with a little zucchino still attached, while others are male (just stem, no baby).
    Is there a difference in taste or texture? Would you recommend one over the other?

  5. How many blossoms will this recipe yield. I’d hate to make all this stuffing and find I don’t have enough of the flowers.

  6. Hi Marianne. Blossoms are usually at farmer’s markets.. but you should ask your local Whole Foods (or similar store) and see if they get them. My store has them every once and awhile – but the blossoms are so perishable they don’t have a long shelf life. When you can find them they are really good and worth the hunt!

  7. Where do you find Zuchinni Squash Blossoms?

  8. It is always a pleasure working with you, Laura! For this delicate beauty, Rocco’s Squash Blossom, we recommend a nice Pinot Noir from Mendocino County – perhaps Goldeneye or Londer, Standish or Toulouse. Happy entertaining!!

  9. WOW WOW WOW. These look incredible!!

    • goodbye to a foster child who styead with us for a year, and he just adored honeycrisps. just saw them back on the grocer’s shelf, and almost cried. i’m going to have to ease into apple season this year. or maybe just get one good cry out of my system and push through! cheers!

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