{"id":2004,"date":"2017-08-02T21:45:55","date_gmt":"2017-08-03T03:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=2004"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:59:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:59:17","slug":"fried-zucchini-blossoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2017\/08\/02\/fried-zucchini-blossoms\/","title":{"rendered":"Fried Zucchini Blossoms (Fiori di Zucca Fritti)"},"content":{"rendered":"

August<\/span> 2, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

Fried Zucchini Blossoms are one of the joys of summer at our house.<\/p>\n

Simple, unadorned flowers, coated with a small amount of an equally simple batter (flour, salt and water), are addictive.<\/p>\n

Stuffed zucchini blossoms are common and often quite good but in my estimation the stuffing does not pay homage to the blossom.\u00a0 One really tastes the stuffing, not the blossom.\u00a0 This is fine if one has such an overabundance of zucchini blossoms that one can squander them by stuffing them.<\/p>\n

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A zucchini blossom in our courtyard container garden.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don’t get me wrong, I like stuffed zucchini blossoms but I’d much rather nibble my way through the crispy fried flowers with a cocktail.\u00a0 Bourbon, did someone say bourbon?<\/p>\n

On a summer trip to Italy a few years back, one of the pizzas that I kept seeing was topped with zucchini blossoms alternating with anchovies.\u00a0 It made a striking presentation (which I suppose was the point) but there was no way the taste of the blossoms could stand up to the anchovies.\u00a0 But taste isn’t everything.\u00a0 I’ll admit that appearance is equally important.<\/p>\n

When I was in college I ate fried food with abandon.\u00a0 Most of it was fried in lard that I rendered.\u00a0 My roommate and I would sometimes do an entire meal of fried food in the Italian manner, a frito misto.\u00a0 These days I rarely eat fried foods except for fried zucchini blossoms and fried sage leaves in the summer.<\/p>\n

Over my years of frying I have tried many different batters, with and without eggs (some with whole eggs mixed into the batter and others with the yolk used as part of the liquid and the stiffly beaten white folded in at the last minute to lighten the coating), with and without baking powder, and with club soda or seltzer in place of water or milk, among other variations.\u00a0 In the end, I settled on the simplest of batters that I had at Great Aunt Fidalma’s house in Tuscany: flour, salt and water.<\/p>\n

It works beautifully, turning out a thin crunchy coating.<\/p>\n

You can use the batter on most any kind of vegetable though watery vegetables like zucchini and mushrooms are challenging.<\/p>\n

My only alternate coating (when I’m cooking in the Italian manner… which is most of the time) is the one my mother used for cauliflower.\u00a0 She would par-boil the cauliflower, cut it into florets, dip it in egg, and then coat it with fine, dry breadcrumbs.\u00a0 Because some of the breadcrumbs come off during the frying, the oil has to be strained after every few batches of florets are fried otherwise the loose breadcrumbs start to burn imparting a burnt taste to the cauliflower.\u00a0 It’s really pretty easy to accomplish as long as you’re prepared for it.<\/p>\n

I set up a very fine mesh strainer over an empty pot and use it to strain the oil.\u00a0 A quick wipe of the pot used for frying and the strained oil can be poured right back in and the pot put back on the heat.\u00a0 The whole process takes less than 30 seconds.<\/p>\n

I’ve always fried in a pot on the stove, never in a dedicated deep fryer.\u00a0 I’ve never even used a thermometer to test the temperature of the oil.\u00a0 I flick a drop of water on the oil and watch how it skitters across the top to judge when the oil is hot enough.\u00a0 There’s a lot of trial and error learning involved in this method so I’d recommend you invest in a deep-frying thermometer (or even a dedicated deep fryer) if you’re not already skilled at frying.<\/p>\n

My two favorite pots for deep frying are a Lodge cast iron pot and an Indian-style karahee.\u00a0 The cast iron is better at holding the temperature steady but the karahee uses less oil because of its curved bottom.\u00a0 A karahee can only be used on a gas stove, however.<\/p>\n

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This is the Indian-style Karahee that I brought back from Guyana in the 1970’s.\u00a0 Fifty-one percent of the population of Guyana trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although I use lard for some baked goods, I don’t deep fry in in on a regular basis any longer.\u00a0 I use corn oil.\u00a0 I think it works a little better than other vegetable oils for frying.\u00a0 Results are even better if one adds a small amount of oil that was previously used for frying to the pot with the fresh oil.<\/p>\n

Fried zucchini blossoms are always served informally in our house.\u00a0 Since they are best right after frying, with just a moment to cool down, everyone gathers in the kitchen, cocktails in hand.\u00a0 When the first batch comes out of the oil, the flowers are put on absorbent paper while the next batch is battered and put in the oil.\u00a0 The previous batch is then salted and passed around.\u00a0 It’s about one minute from the time the flowers come out of the oil until they are being eaten.<\/p>\n

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Fried Zucchini Blossoms<\/h2>\n
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These zucchini flowers are coated with the simplest of batters. The amount of water needed cannot be determined precisely as it will depend on the flour to some extent. Refrigerating the batter allows the flour to fully hydrate, after which it will need to be thinned with a bit more water. Cold batter also sticks to food better than warm batter. Gently scraping the battered flower on the edge of the bowl allows for the amount of batter to be controlled. The flowers should just brown slightly otherwise they can start to taste bitter. Zucchini flowers are very delicate and do not stand up well to rinsing under water so only wash them if absolutely necessary. One cup of flour will make enough batter for at least two dozen flowers.<\/div>\n
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Prep Time <\/span>20 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Cook Time <\/span>30 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time <\/span>1 hour<\/span><\/span> hr<\/span> 50 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Servings: <\/span>4<\/span> persons<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ingredients
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