What to Do With All That Zucchini? Make Fiori di Zucca!

Reader Contribution by Kc Compton
1 / 2
2 / 2

When our friend Tom Finerty over at Your Garden Show blog shared a recipe and photos from his neighbors in Italy, I knew it would only be days before I attempted the dish they were preparing. The recipe is for Fiori di Zucca, which is delicious-sounding Italian for the rather more prosaic “fried squash blossoms.”  

For those of us who face the perennial question of what to do with all that zucchini, this recipe offers an elegant, and as I suspected, truly delectable solution: Nip ’em in

the bud. Then fry the buds. But first, make a light batter, and fill the flower buds with fresh mozzarella and anchovies. It’s about that simple, and simply scrumptious. Here are the directions, and here’s how mine turned out. I salted the batter too much and added an egg. When I looked at Tom’s blog again, I realized that his neighbor’s recipe doesn’t include an egg, and also uses carbonated water (acqua gassata, which is almost as common in Italy as plain old water), which makes the batter much lighter.

If I were making this dish for guests, I’d make some with and some without anchovies, though I thought the slight fishy flavor was spectaculor. I also put a pretty Genovese basil leaf in two of mine and loved the flavor of the gooey mozzarella, the basil and the delicate squash blossom. When I make this again–and I most assuredly will–I’m going to drizzle some insanely good, very thick balsamic vinegar over the cooked blossoms.  

Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368