The rare sighting of fresh zucchini or squash blossoms at the market back home was always such a thrill, just dreaming of the delectableness of sautéing them up for a combination of crispy and tender goodness. Usually, however, the sightings didn’t necessarily correlate with the evening plans, so we would have to walk by these beauties.
In France, these blossoms, often arranged as a bouquet surrounded by leaves, are widely available. In fact, I was surprised to see they had their own “button” on the scale at my local hypermarché, where shoppers weigh and label their produce items before taking them to the register. Now that I have a kitchen, and a slower social schedule, there was no way I was going to pass up an opportunity to create this delicacy.
I’ve ordered Fleurs de Courgettes in restaurants a few times since we’ve been here, but have been disappointed in how heavily they were battered or the quality of oil used. So, I decided to use a light coating mixture similar to one I have used to prepared oysters {for oyster poor boy sandwiches} and green tomato slices in the past. I think the key ingredient here is the cornmeal, it gives the foods an extra crunch, texture and flavor that can’t be achieved with flour alone.
Ingredients
yield 16 squash blossoms
16 squash or zucchini blossoms
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal or polenta
a pinch of salt
a grind of pepper
you could also add an optional seasoning of choice, dried parsley, thyme, basil, pepper flakes or cayenne would be good.
Stir the mix with a fork until consistent in color.
Fresh tomato slices and oysters are already quite damp, so they can be dipped directly into the powder coating and the mix will coat them nicely. But, since the courgettes are dry, I whisked up 4 whole eggs until they were smooth and consistent, and then dipped each of the blossoms in the eggs,
before dredging the blossoms in the flour mixture.
I poured about an inch of olive oil into a heavy saucepan and heated it on medium high. To test for the right temperature, you can drop some of the powder mix into the hot oil, the oil should bubble around it and make it form into a little ball.
I let the coated blossoms bubble for about 40 seconds to 1 minute per side. You can test for doneness by lifting the blossoms with a metal spatula, they should be slightly golden and crispy looking on the underside. Use the spatula to flip them over and cook the other side.
After cooking the blossoms I let them rest for a moment on paper towels to absorb any excess oil,
but served them as quickly as possible!
The blossoms tasted fresh and green, a perfect contrast to the crunchy, crispy coating, perfumed with olive oil.
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| Fleurs de Courgettes, a menu item at Paloma Beach, in St. Jean Cap Ferrat |
How beautifully delicious, Emily! Like late summer sunshine on a plate. I love their delicate flavor. David Tanis has a lovely recipe for a squash salad of yellow squash "ribbons" and blossoms in his book, "A Platter of Figs" – it's a favorite! Enjoy the first days of fall in France. Wish I was there! XO