Goat Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossom Recipe

If you haven’t yet noticed my obsession with edible flowers, this post will make it completely apparent.  One of my favorite summer lunches is lightly fried zucchini blossoms.  I simply stuff them with a small spoonful of goat cheese and then dip them in a gluten free batter before pan frying them.  These are so simple to make and absolutely beautiful, but it was only two years ago that I even learned about eating squash blossoms.I was wandering the International Farmer’s market and stopped by the booth for Mosby Farm.  They’re a favorite of mine as they partner with us donating produce for the Healthy Cooking on a Tight Budget Program, but at the time I just knew them as the farm near Eric’s parents.

I surveyed their produce, not really planning to buy anything because it was my first year doing a CSA and we had plenty of produce.  Then I saw the squash blossoms.

They were a cheerful golden yellow that practically glowed.  The petals were so thin they were transparent, lined with orange veins, like the crepe paper skin of an elderly woman, yet I could tell they were moist and fresh.  At the base of each flower, as if nature intended them to be held in a bridal bouquet, a perfectly miniature green zucchini or yellow squash handle.

I asked the woman at the booth, “what do you do with those?”  “Oh you have to deep fry them!” she replied gleefully.

“Fry them? No, really.”  I deep fry food maybe twice a year and I certainly wasn’t planning to do it to those delicate beautiful flowers.

“Trust me honey, it’s heaven on a plate.”

Skeptical, I bought 4 at $1 each.  I took them home, battered them in some tempura from a box, and fried them.  She was SO right!

The very next day the farmer for my CSA said, “Oh by the way, if you want any zucchini blossoms you can take some too.”  SOLD!

Now I’ve experimented, I’ve stuffed the flowers with various fillings, I’ve tried different batters or even no batter.  But this is now my go to recipe for squash blossoms.  I love it so much that this year I planted my own zucchini plant FOR THE FLOWERS!

I made my tempura batter gluten free because whenever I have a chance to make a gluten free recipe using ingredients I commonly have, I do it.  This time, instead of using all purpose flour and cornstarch, I used rice flour and cornstarch.

I always have rice flour around for making mochi (which I totally need to do a post or three on!).  You can get it in most grocery stores, but it will be cheaper in Asian stores.  Even if the packaging is not in English, I can usually find it in the flour section, or even in the food section of an Asian dollar store.  You want to make sure it’s 100% rice flour.  The 100% on the front of the package was a good indicator.

But even better, the back of the package had a little ingredients sticker in English.

I make my batter kind of thick and then sort of squeeze it off of the blossoms.  I like to leave the baby zucchini attached sometimes, they’re super delicious fried along with the blossoms.  Keep in mind that these won’t be a golden brown like some fried foods because the cornstarch and rice flour don’t brown like all purpose flour will.

I don’t use any kind of dipping sauce, just a little salt.  But the goat cheese stuffing is a necessity for me.  It’s a warm, gooey, creamy center with a tangy flavor that balances out the fattiness of frying the blossoms.

Okay, I’m dying to know.  Have you had zucchini or squash blossoms?  How did you discover them?  How do you like to eat them?