Blossoms Zucchini Fritters / Courgette Fritters - Beignets de Fleurs de Courgettes | Provencal French Recipes Guide

Blossoms Zucchini Fritters / Courgette Fritters - Beignets de Fleurs de Courgettes enjoyed them just plain or stuffed, these are two of my favourite ways to eat them.

On the French Riviera blossoms of this fruit (Yes! a fruit, more below) are very popular.

Have you ever had a dish while on vacation that you just cannot find when you return home?

You dream about it, crave and search for it everywhere only to come up empty handed time and again. OK!

So maybe it is not that dramatic.

But if you saw the reaction of one of my American friend Jenny when she finally found zucchini blossoms for sale at her local market, you will understand.

Let’s just say there may have been jumping involved.

But once she composed herself, she rushed home, cooked her Blossom Zucchini Fritters / Courgette Fritters, sat down and enjoyed every single bite.

Then she called me in the middle of the night and told me the story!

Zucchini / Courgette Blossoms are sold at the markets in beautiful bunches, picked in the morning and brought there that same day.

If you are lucky to have a garden as I do, you just have to pick them, but...:

If you grow your own Zucchini / Courgettes, you will notice that the plant produces two types of blossom: a male and a female.

The female blossom is attached to the zucchini and falls off as the fruit matures.

The male blossom, with the long stem, serves no purpose other than fertilization, so these are the ones you will have to pick and cook.

I pick the male blossoms early in the morning while they are still opened and place them in a glass of water if I plan to use them the same day (that keep them opened).

When I want to make a dish that requires lots of blossoms, I put them in a plastic bag; I blow some air into it and close it tightly.

I then store the bag in the fridge upright until I collect enough blossoms for the dish.

The most common way to eat them on the French Riviera is coated in a batter and fried.

We called them here: Beignets de Fleurs de Courgettes (Blossoms Zucchini Fritters or Blossoms Courgette Fritters in English).

Last summer in Nice at one of my favourite restaurant, La Petite Maison, I had some Blossom Zucchini Fritters / Courgette Fritters stuffed with mozzarella and herbs; it was delicious.

They are also wonderful with a Ratatouille (Vegetable Stew).

I have seen once a recipe for pizza with zucchini blossoms in Italy, never try it; must be good too!

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Notes About Zucchini / Courgette

Zucchini (in North American and Australian English) or Courgette (in New Zealand and British English) is a small summer squash.

Its scientific name is Cucurbita pepo (a specie which also includes other squash).

It can either be yellow, green or light green, and generally has a similar shape to a ridged cucumber, a few cultivars produce round or bottle-shaped ones.

Culinarily, Zucchini / Courgette is treated as a vegetable which means it is usually cooked and presented as a savoury dish or accompaniment.

However, biologically, the Zucchini / Courgette is an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of the female Zucchini / Courgette blossom .

My wife doesn't know this (she will after reading this page!), but a big motivation for my planting Zucchini / Courgette in my garden was that I wanted to eat my own Blossoms Zucchini Fritters / Courgette Fritters.

Zucchini / Courgette blossoms are (I think) one of the most delightful summer dish.

They are good stuffed, and divine when fried.

The delicate blossom of young Zucchini / Courgette is something I look forward to each summer.

They are a real delicacy!

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Here are the many ways I cook my Blossoms Zucchini / Courgette

• Stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies then coated in a batter and fried.
• Stuffed with ricotta (parmesan or feta will do too!) with fresh herbs and baked.
• Mixed in at the last minute in a risotto.
• Slice then fied end mixed with fresh pasta.
• Cut in strips and added to a Ratatouille at the last moment.
• Stuffed with goat cheese on top of pizza.

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Tips

• When buying or picking your blossoms, look for fresh, opened, and perky ones; avoid the limp or wilted ones.
• It is very hard to open them without damaging the blossom, which you need to do if you want to stuff them.
• You can use closed blossoms in dishes where they will be chopped or sliced.

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2 Recipes

1 - The original recipe for Blossoms Zucchini Fritters / Courgette Fritters.

2 - Another recipe for Blossoms Zucchini / Courgette stuffed with mozzarella (I really like this one!).

Batter-dipped, Zucchini Fritters / Courgette Fritters blossoms.

Serves 4 (makes 12 Zucchini Fritters / Courgette Fritters)

• 12 Zucchini / Courgette blossoms.
• 150 grs flour.
• A little bit of milk.
• 2 eggs, separated.
• Salt.
• Freshly ground pepper.
• Parsley.
• Virgin olive oil (for frying).

• Clean and rinse the blossoms, remove the stems and pistils and any insects that might be hiding inside.
• Mix the flour, milk, 2 egg yolks in a bowl.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff and add to the flour mixture with the minced parsley.
• Salt and add freshly ground pepper.
• Delicately, using a spoon, transfer the battered blossom to the hot virgin olive oil, pouring any batter that accumulates in the bottom of the spoon back atop the frying blossom, making sure it is coated.
• Remove as soon as it has turned golden.

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Must be crispy. Pure perfection!

Serves 4 (makes 12 Zucchini Fritters / Courgette Fritters)

• 12 Zucchini / Courgette blossoms.
• 6 ounces (~ 170 grams) whole milk mozzarella.
• 1 egg, separated.
• 6 salted anchovies filets, cleaned, rinsed and cut in two pieces.
• Salt (be careful as anchovies are already salty!) and freshly ground pepper.
• Virgin olive oil (for frying).

For the Batter:

• Place the flour and salt in a bowl and make a shallow well in the centre.
• Place the beaten egg in the well and mix it into the flour with a fork.
• Stir in the water, pressing any lumps with the back of the fork to remove.
• Mix to a consistency that resembles thin pancake batter.
• When you lift some batter with the fork, it should fall in a ribbon.
  
• If the batter is too thick, add more water, a teaspoon at a time.
• If too thin, add a little more flour.
• Set aside.
• Heat the virgin olive oil : heat about 1 inch (~ 2,54 cm) of virgin olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat until it is hot enough to sizzle the end of a wooden chopstick (about 365 °F - 180 °C for virgin olive oil).
• Drain on paper towels and repeat battering and frying the remaining blossoms at a time without allowing them to touch each other in the oil.
• As necessary, regulate the temperature to keep oil at 365 °F (180 °C) while frying.
• Be careful when turning the blossoms as they tend to splatter when any residual water spills into the hot oil.
• Serve immediately with a napkin and a salt shaker, if desired.

Prepare the Blossoms:

• Clean and rinse the blossoms, remove the stems and pistils and any insects that might be hiding inside.
• Slice the cheese into small squares enough to fit deep inside the blossoms so that you can fold over the petals to fully enclose the cheese.
• Place a piece of anchovy in each blossom along with the cheese cube and fold over the petals to close the opening.
• When the virgin olive oil is hot enough, dip a blossom into batter and turn with a large spoon to coat.
• Delicately, using a spoon, transfer the battered blossom to the hot virgin olive oil, pouring any batter that accumulates in the bottom of the spoon back atop the frying blossom, making sure it is coated.
• Fry the blossom on both sides just until the batter is cooked through, about 1 minute total. When done, the batter will be lightly golden, not brown.
• Drain on paper towels and repeat battering and frying the remaining blossoms at a time without allowing them to touch each other in the oil.
• As necessary, regulate the temperature to keep oil at 365 °F (180 °C) while frying.
• Be careful when turning the blossoms as they tend to splatter when any residual water spills into the hot oil.
• Serve immediately with a napkin and a salt shaker, if desired.
• Be careful of the molten cheese inside when you eat these delicious Zucchini Fritters / Courgette Fritters - Beignets de Fleurs de Courgettes.

Done, enjoy!

Whatever recipe you choose make it right now. You will be glad you did!

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