Zucchini Flower Blossom Fritters
Our mother has been using the same Zucchini Flower Blossom Fritters 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.
Here’s our Fried Zucchini Flower Fritter or Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca recipe:
- 2 cups of roughly chopped zucchini flowers (with the stem removed and interior material removed)
- ½ cup of flour (+ or - a few tablespoons)
- ¼ tablespoon of baking powder (optional)
- ¼ cup of Pecorino Romano and ¼ cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1 egg
- ¼ - ½ cup of water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- The technique is fairly simple: start by mixing the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper together. Combine water and egg, whisk together and then add to dry ingredients.Combine wet and dry ingredients (if mixture appears dry add more water)
- Add chopped zucchini flowers and combine all ingredients. Let mixture rest 30 minutes. Pan fry until crispy and golden (about two minutes on each side if your oil is at the correct temperature).
So true about zucchini being rather “eh” here. I mean we do eat them a lot, but it’s nothing special like a big ole porcini found in the woods — why yes, that *is* what we had for dinner this evening 😉
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Hi Paul,
You can shred some zucchini and simply omit the flowers – not the same but you’ll get a basic version!
I leave the flower intact and dip into the batter and fry, also stuff with a ricotta, grated cheese, prosciutto gently twist the tip of the flower to close it, dip in batter and fry, sooo good!!