Battered Zucchini Flowers with Cheese Filling

Ingredients

15 zucchini flowers,
200 grams cheddar cheese,
75 grams mozzarella cheese,
1 tablespoon fresh cream,
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley,
100 grams white flour,
1 teaspoon baking powder,
1 egg yolk,
2 tablespoons of light olive oil,
150 ml of milk,
Salt and pepper to taste,
Vegetable oil.

Method

Clean the zucchini flowers of any impurities. With a sharp knife, cut stems off except for 1 cm. Carefully open the flowers and remove the pistils. Put aside.

Grate the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses and mix with 3 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley. Add 1 tablespoon of the fresh cream and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Beat up the batter to a uniform creamy consistency. Be careful not to add too much salt and pepper as the batter will also contain salt and pepper.

Carefully open the zucchini flowers and using a small spoon, put the cheese, parsley and fresh cream mixture into the zucchini. Do not overfill so that you can close the petals and pass the stuffed flowers through the batter. Put aside.

Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to the white flour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Not much so that the battered zucchini flowers do not become salty or with too much pepper. Mix well and gradually incorporate the milk and 2 tablespoons of the light olive oil.

Add the egg yolk and mix well. The consistency of the batter should be runny but thick enough to stay on the zucchini flower. Adjust with less or more milk accordingly.

Heat up enough vegetable oil in a deep saucepan so that you can immerse the battered zucchini flowers into the oil for deep frying. Use low to medium heat.

Carefully hold the zucchini flowers one at a time and pass through the batter, rotating as you go to obtain a uniform batter around the zucchini flower. Place into the hot oil and allow the batter to fry to a light golden colour.

Only deep fry two stuffed and battered zucchini flowers at a time to prevent the battered flowers from sticking to each other. With a pair of tongs carefully rotate the stuffed flowers for uniform cooking.

Remove the fried zucchini flowers from the oil, allow the surplus oil to drip back into the frying pan and place on a tray with kitchen paper to soak away any excess oil.

Enjoy. The taste, texture and contrast of the flavours make this a unique culinary experience.

Source

Madeleine's recipe : Battered Zucchini flowers with cheese filling

Discover more of Madeleine’s Mauritian cuisine in

‘Best of Mauritian Cuisine’ by Madeleine and Clancy Philippe