Z is for: Zucchini Blossoms Stuffed with Ricotta

I’ve been wanting to make stuffed zucchini blossoms on the blog for quite some time now.

But here’s the problem…

Because their life span once harvesting is so incredibly short, they are almost impossible to find at the farmer’s market or in stores. (though you may get lucky!)

Honestly, the best and easiest way is to harvest them from your own garden (if you are fortunate enough to have one!)

For the first time in my adult life, I have a verrrrry small collection of herbs and plants this year, and one of the things I planted was zucchini!

So when I saw them start to bloom, I knew I needed to try making these.

Truth be told, I only planted two zucchini plants, so my zucchini blossom harvest was quite small for this recipe (4 to be exact.) You also need to make sure you are harvesting the male blossoms, because if you take the female flowers, you won’t have a zucchini harvest at all (the female flowers produce the squash.) I poured over this article that explains the difference, so I would check that out for reference… but basically, the males have the stamen in the middle and usually bloom first.

It’s easiest to cut the blooms in the morning, when they are more open. I cut them just about a half inch below the flower. You will also need to carefully remove the stamen from the inside. To keep them as fresh as possible, you will want to use them right away and keep them under a damp paper towel while you get everything ready. I only had four to work with this day, but I made the recipe for 8, just in case you are luckier than me. (Also… the filling works great in my stuffed, bacon wrapped jalapenos if you have extra!)

Keeping with the color palette of this entire post (yellow and green apparently), I decided to add a little lemon zest and juice to brighten the dish and keep it very light.

As for the rest of the filling, I went with a mix of ricotta and fresh herbs (more green!) I’ve previously had these before with goat cheese, which I loved… buuuuut my boyfriend (and photographer), Justin, doesn’t like goat cheese so I compromised and decided to try them with ricotta. (Shhhh.. Don’t tell him, but I think in this particular recipe I actually enjoyed the ricotta more). I also added some fresh basil and chives (from the garden!)… just enough to add another fresh component, but not too much to overpower the blossoms.

To fill the flowers, you can either lightly spoon in the mixture… OR use a piping bag. (I opted for the latter.) Each blossom will probably only hold about 2 teaspoons of filling, depending on their size.

Again, not wanting to overpower the blossoms, I created an extremely light breading. I went with a simple mixture of rice flour and sparkling water. The rice flour is much finer and lighter than AP flour, and didn’t weigh down these delicate flowers, which I loved.

After battering the stuffed blossoms, stick them into the hot oil. I just used a frying pan for this, and it worked out just fine. They will only take a couple minutes per side (just until golden brown.) Remove them to a paper towel lined plate to drain and sprinkle immediately with a little sea salt.

These are great to enjoy on their own or with a Fresh Basil Pesto or my Easy Marinara Sauce. Hopefully I can make these again as more blossoms pop up… and definitely looking forward to my zucchini harvest!