Pan Fried Zucchini Blossoms

Zucchini blossoms are the flower on the plant that will eventually become the zucchini itself. Make this delicate and beautiful appetizer throughout the whole growing season of the zucchini. However the most common times would be in the beginning of the season out of impatience, and at the end out of practicality. I had 5 zucchini blossoms to work with, but if you have more or less adjust the ingredient amounts to the number of blossoms you have. If you cannot find the chihuahua cheese substitute it with a mozzarella cheese.

Ingredients

5 zucchini blossoms
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup of corn meal
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
5 pieces of chihuahua cheese diced or mozzarella cheese
A sprinkle of kosher salt
1 fresh tomato diced
cilantro leaves as garnish

Technique

Pick fresh blossoms from your garden. Beat the egg in a small bowl and set aside. Add cornmeal to a separate bowl for breading. Cut the cheese into pieces so that it can easily slide into the blossom’s center. More may be needed if it is a big blossom. Gently open blossom and stuff with cheese pieces. Be careful not to break the petals of the blossom. Inside of the blossom is a little stem that is situated in the center of the blossom. Make sure when stuffing with the cheese that you angle the cheese to a side versus going down the center to evenly distribute the cheese. Heat vegetable oil in a medium sized skillet over medium high heat. Gently roll the stuffed blossoms in the beaten egg mixture, transfer to the cornmeal and roll until evenly coated. Then place into the skillet. Repeat with all blossoms. Once all blossoms are in the skillet, sprinkle with kosher salt. Turn blossoms once lightly browned. Once again sprinkle with a little kosher salt. At this point depending on shape of blossoms you may have to turn on a third side to brown. Once all side are slightly brown and crispy, remove and serve with freshly diced tomatoes.

Chatty Advice

When making any of our gluten-free recipes take care in reading the labels of any packaged or canned products. If there is a label on anything you are using, read it or ask to make sure that it is indeed gluten-free. Many products vary in ingredients from brand to brand. Some examples of this can be found when looking at the labels of soy sauce, mustard, distilled vinegar, and even chicken broth.