The rainforest formerly known as New York State, we suddenly have tons of summer squash blossoms on our gargantuan plants. Zucchini population control means finding a place for them on our plates.
Bend. Pick. Repeat.
I made a great discovery when picking the blossoms: if you grasp them just right you can leave the sex organs (seriously, that’s what they are) in tact on the stem and you can skip the next step. The one on the right is castrated, if you will. The other one is not. Next I’ll show you how to take care of that.
It is quite easy to separate the stem end from the blossom by grasping it firmly and twisting.
A word of caution: if you happen to hear a humming sort of noise or feel vibration in the blossom, back away slowly and return it to the wild. A bee is very busy in there and you know what they say about the trailer rocking and so on...
Anyway . . .
Here are a whole bunch of neutered blossoms ready for the recipe. A pastry bag works best for filling the blossoms neatly.
The idea is to make a cheesy filling. So use a pint of whole milk ricotta, an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese, 1/2 cup romano and 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves.
Stir until smoothly combined and insert into the blossom as shown or using a small spoon. I just happened to use the fresh ricotta I made this morning (very Martha of me, I know)... and it was quite marvelous.
Fill, Fry & Finish
Just to clarify... You can make a pastry bag with a small freezer bag by cutting the very end off of one corner. I should have made a video, but can you see that technique over there?
Now, in real butter, (preferably pastured or made from milk donated by cows who eat grass) fry these succulent pouches over medium heat until slightly browned on two sides, turning over ever so gently.
The result is so amazing, so delicious, so...simple, really. Let them cool a little, season with salt and pepper and savor them. A splash of dry rosé wine is the perfect accompaniment to the sweet cheese with the perfume of the basil and the herbaceousness of the blossom. Great as an appetizer or light lunch. Nice for breakfast too, come to think of it. Santé!
