Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms Food

FRIED CHEESE-STUFFED ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, water and salt until smooth. Set aside.
• In a small bowl combine the goat cheese, cream cheese, heavy cream, basil, and green onion. Mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons filling into each blossom. Close the blossoms and gently twist the petals to seal.
• In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 350 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 1 minute.) Dip the stuffed zucchini blossoms in the batter and allow any excess batter to drip off. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Allow the cooked blossoms to drain on paper towels.
• Season with salt and serve with your favorite marinara sauce or vinaigrette.

ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS STUFFED WITH TOMATOES AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 15x10x2-inch oval baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil. Heat 5 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add breadcrumbs and thyme and stir until breadcrumbs are lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in tomatoes, cheese, eggs, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Fill zucchini blossoms with breadcrumb mixture, using about 2 teaspoons for small blossoms and 1 tablespoon for large blossoms (be careful not to tear blossoms). Sprinkle any remaining breadcrumb mixture over baking dish. Place zucchini atop breadcrumbs in dish. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons oil over. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover; chill.)
• Bake until zucchini are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

CRISP ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cover 3/4 tablespoon of the sumac with 1 tablespoon of boiling water and leave to infuse for 5 minutes. Add both types of cheese, oregano, walnuts, lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a generous grind of pepper. Mix well.
• Fill the flowers by carefully opening them and either spooning or piping about a tablespoon of the ricotta mixture into each, gently pushing the filling all the way to the bottom of each blossom but being careful not to fill them too much; if you can get someone to hold the flower open for you, it would make it much easier. Gently twist the tips of the petals to secure the filling inside and set aside until you're ready to fry.
• Pour enough oil into a medium (about 8-inch/20-centimeter) nonstick frying pan so that the oil rises about 1 inch/2 centimeters up the sides of the pan. Place on a high heat for 5 minutes and then turn the heat down a fraction.
• Meanwhile, mix the flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl. Slowly pour in the sparkling water, whisking continuously to form a smooth batter.
• When bubbles start to surface in the oil, test it by dropping some batter into the oil: if it sizzles, you are ready. (The oil should hover between 320 and 350 degrees Fahrenheit/160 and 180 degrees Celsius.)
• Lower a zucchini blossom into the batter, turning to coat completely, before carefully placing in the hot oil. Repeat, cooking a few blossoms at a time, adjusting the temperature between batches so they take about 30 seconds on each side to turn a golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and then sprinkle with salt and the remaining 1/4 tablespoon sumac. Serve at once with the lemon wedges alongside.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

Steps:

• Soak the sun dried tomatoes in a small cup of hot water for 30 minutes. Remove from the water and roughly chop.
• Place tomatoes and lemon juice a bit at a time in a food processor with the goat cheese, pulsing until well blended and the flavor is satisfactory to you.
• Combine the flour with a few good shakes of salt and pepper and blend well.
• Pour out some of the flour mixture onto a clean dry plate.
• Gently rinse and dry the zucchini blossoms, removing the stamens and pistils carefully (You may find that using tweezers helps, otherwise just be patient).
• Spread petals slightly and spoon a small amount of filling mixture into each blossom, or squeeze from a plastic bag with a corner snipped off if it is easier for you to fill it that way.
• Leave enough room at the top of each blossom to twist it closed.
• Once blossoms are filled and sealed, dip each flower into beaten egg and roll gently in the flour mixture until lightly coated (If you find you've made too much filling, just save it to toss with pasta or spread on bread or crackers).
• Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to a large pan to heat (medium high).
• When the oil is hot enough, carefully place blossoms in the oil a few at a time with a slotted spoon, turning until each is golden and just lightly crispy.
• Drain on paper towels and serve. Enjoy!

THREE CHEESE STUFFED ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

Steps:

• Remove pistils from the blossoms, but leave the stems intact.
• Make a paste with the garlic and the salt and put in a bowl with the three cheeses, herbs, and pepper.
• Carefully open the petals of each blossom and stuff about 1 tbsp of the mixture into the base.
• Twist the petals together to seal.
• Finish stuffing all blossoms.
• Dip the blossoms 1 at a time into the beaten egg.
• Coat each blossom with flour.
• In a medium skillet, add enough light olive oil to cover by 1/2 inch.
• Fry the blossoms 3 or 4 at a time, turning occasionally over medium heat until golden brown, Drain on paper towels.

LIGHTER STUFFED ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

Steps:

• Chop 2 zucchini blossoms finely. Transfer to a bowl.
• Stir tofu, feta cheese, olives, garlic, thyme, oregano, and seasoned salt into the bowl. Pour filling into a food processor; pulse until very crumbly. Increase speed blend until smooth and golden, about 3 minutes.
• Pipe filling into remaining 6 blossoms using a pastry bag or a resealable plastic bag with the corner snipped off. Twist blossom ends carefully to seal in filling. Arrange on a plate; transfer to the freezer.
• Mix whole wheat flour and egg substitute together in a bowl until batter is the consistency of pudding.
• Spread bread crumbs in a shallow dish.
• Dip a stuffed blossom in batter and roll in bread crumbs. Repeat with remaining blossoms.
• Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook blossoms until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.