Fried Zucchini Flowers, Part Deux

The last time I made these, they were good, but not this good. These have dutifully climbed the ladder from average, to really rather sexy. The box of zucchini flowers had been sitting in the depths of the fridge for a few days too many, their petals had grown a little soft and had nearly welded together in the tangle of the cling-wrapped crate. Last night was the absolute last straw, they were on their last legs and needed a good stuffing, as do most fatigued specimens I expect (ooo la la).

 Expect many-a-note here for the updated version. Last time, I dipped the stuffed flowers in beaten egg and rolled them in flour, the result being an unimpressive, lumpy coating and quite frankly, too many bowls to wash. Last time, the gorgonzola was simply cubed and stuffed, last night it was whipped and piped, a much silkier, runnier, glossier filling ensued, much to my delight as it spilled out all over the plate when speared with knife and fork, ready to be sopped up by the mini zucchini stems.

In other news, it's Valentines day soon, I think you should take yourself somewhere with twinkling lights...

...and maybe somewhere where you can sit in some kind of booth. Booths are the seat to the soul you know! Only dark, sexy, bistro booths though, MacDonald's booths don't do anything for the heart strings except coat them in trans fat.

Three Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Flowers:

adapted loosely from taste.com.au and Jamie Oliver

10 female zucchini flowers

50g gorgonzola dolce

50g fresh ricotta, from a deli, not the horrible pre-packaged supermarket stuff

1/8 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 a beaten egg

salt and pepper to taste

batter

2/3 cup plain flour, sifted

150ml cold beer

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 tablespoons water

pinch of salt

vegetable oil for deep frying

Remove and discard the inner stamen from the inside of the zucchini blossom. Using an electric beater,  beat together both the gorgonzola and ricotta until combined. Add the egg and whisk until light and fluffy. Stir the parmesan through the mixture and taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Ask your sister/friend/lover to gently hold the zucchini petals open, fill a piping bag with cheese mixture and pipe the flowers full. Twist the petals together to hold the filling inside.

To make the batter, add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk vigorously until smooth and lump-less. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more water until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.

Heat about 5cm deep of vegetable oil in a deep, wide saucepan, drop some batter into the oil, and if it browns within 15 seconds, the oil is hot enough. Dip each zucchini flower in the batter and let the excess drip back into the bowl. Quickly lower each flower into the oil, frying two flowers at once. Once they are golden brown (about 30 seconds each) remove with a metal slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat with the rest of the flowers and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately.