Fiori di Zucca Ripieni - Stuffed Squash Blossoms

This morning I had the pleasure of a lovely visit from Eleanore-- Eleanore of stuffed squash blossom fame. She has been so kind as to not only share the full dining experience with her friends and me for a lovely luncheon, but also the recipe, which follows, annotated with some of Eleanore's tips. It's not for the faint of heart, and takes some advanced planning-- but man, are they worth it!

If you're interested in giving it a shot, just let me know and we'll gather some squash blossoms for you. They are best/only harvested in the mornings while the pollinators are busy and the flowers are bright and open. The heat of the day tends to melt them, thus they're not included in your shares.

Fiori di Zucca Ripieni

18 squash flowers

8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

White Sauce made (see below)

salt

ground white pepper

olive or other vegetable oil for frying [Eleanore reccomends grapeseed oil]

batter for frying vegetables (see below)

*[Make filling the day before and refrigerate-- this makes it much easier to stuff the blossoms.]

Combine the cheese with the white sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir to mix. [Let sit overnight to set.]

Remove pistils and trim flower stems. Fill each flower with this mixture (one heaping tablespoon per flower). Carefully twist flower ends shut.

In a medium-sized frying pan heat 1 to 1 1/2 cups of oil to 375 degrees on a deep frying thermometer. Delicately dip each stuffed flower in the batter and fry until golden and crisp on both sides. Drain on paper towel and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Salsa Besciamella - white sauce

6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups hot milk

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture acquires a light-brown color. Add the milk all at once and stir vigorously to avoid lumps. Cook slowly for 5 minutes.


Pastella per Fritti di Verdura - Batter for frying Vegetables

1 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cold water
2 tablespoons olive oil
ground white pepper

Sift together the three dry ingredients. Gradually add the cold water and the oil, stirring just until a smooth batter is formed. Add pepper to taste and mix. Use as directed. Yields about 1 1/2 cups.

BIG thanks to Eleanore for sharing her recipe and tips and big heart.

I should also tell you that she once delivered to the house a half dozen tidily-wrapped, hot blossoms when I couldn't make it to lunch one afternoon... We were up on the roof bolting in solar hot water panels-- what a treat!!