Zucchini Blossoms or Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca

Male zucchini flower fully opened and with the stamen intact (you'll want to remove it prior to cooking as it is bitter).

Our mother has been using the same Zucchini Blossoms or Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca recipe for nearly 30 years here in the United States, which includes grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and plenty of finely chopped parsley.  Our mother’s technique also includes “flattening” out the batter when it hits the hot oil so that thin frittelle are produced.  Note, you can also simply batter and fry a single, whole, zucchini flower with a bit of cheese (or a single salty anchovy) placed in the center of the blossom (I prefer chopping the flowers to release more flavor and also getting more out of  precious zucchini blossoms). A third technique is to simply consume the flowers raw in a salad as Melissa Clark from the NY Times suggested in her article, Zucchini’s Flower Power.

For many Calabrians, the zucchni blossom or flower is the best part of the vegetable.  In fact, and to be perfectly honest, zucchini are often seen as “second rate” vegetables in Calabria, don’t ask me to explain this view but I think it has something to do with the abundance of zucchini during the summer months in southern Italy and the same can be said about other fruits and vegetables in the region.

Fresh frittelle di fiori di zucca, or zucchini fritterr; most Italians cosume this little treasures as a pre-dinner type of meal

Here’s our Fried Zucchini Flowers or Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca recipe:

Fried Zucchini Flowers or Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Recipe type: Appetizer

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

• 1-2 cups of roughly chopped zucchini flowers (with the stem removed and interior material removed)
• 1.5 cups of flour
• 2 tablespoons of baking powder
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• ¾ tablespoons of salt
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• Oil for frying (you can use olive oil but I think it’s a big waste of a precious oil, try an oil with a higher smoking point that is less expensive like Canola, for example)

Process

1. The technique is fairly simple: start by mixing the flour, baking powder and salt together.
2. Grab another bowl and mix the milk, egg and zucchini flowers.
3. Combine the dry ingredients well and fry until crispy and golden (about 4 minutes if your oil is at the correct temperature).

Notes

You can also simply take a single blossom, create a simple batter, fill the intact blossom flower with a single anchovy or a bit of ricotta and deep fry until golden brown.

2.2.8

harvesting zucchini flowers outside of Bagnara Calabra in the village of Pellegrina, my parent's birthplace