Obsessed With Zucchini Blossoms!

--Not just because I planted too many zucchini plants, per usual, but also because they are so darn cute stuffed, tossed in a salad or adorning a soup.   I am not alone in this obsession, recipes abound in print and on the web. Check out the links beneath the photos.  

 Squash Blossom Salad

Mexican Squash Blossom Soup

Baked Blossoms Stuffed With Ricotta & Basil

Elizabeth Bard also has a great blog this month about blossoms with a recipe for stuffing the blossoms with a mixture of cheese mint.

Squash Blossoms With Burrata & Tapenade

A new favorite is the one below from The New York Times.  As the writer, Melissa Clark notes, you don’t have to have a garden to enjoy these colorful and delicious blossoms as they are now available in many stores and farmer’s markets. 

Zucchini Blossoms With Burrata and Tapenade

By MELISSA CLARK, New York Times, July 11, 2012  

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted mixed black olives, coarsely chopped
• 3 anchovy fillets, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for garnish
• 12 squash blossoms
• 1 piece burrata or buffalo mozzarella
• Coarse sea salt.

Preparation

1.

In a food processor, combine olives, anchovy, garlic, rosemary and lemon zest. Using the pulse button, process until coarsely chopped and well blended. Continue to process, slowly adding 3 tablespoons olive oil.

2.

Cut a lengthwise slit in each blossom. Spoon about 1 tablespoon burrata and 1/2 teaspoon tapenade into each blossom (you may not use all of the cheese or tapenade). Pinch closed. Transfer blossoms to a platter. Drizzle generously with oil and sprinkle with salt.

YIELD

6 servings.  

Vertical Gardening & Squash Blossoms

Short on garden space, I decided to start growing more veggies vertically this year by training tomatoes to climb a trellis, growing pole instead of bush beans and training Trombetta di Albenga (see April 9, 2011 post) squash to grow up and over a fence.  For the tomatoes and squash I used existing fencing but for the beans I constructed a trellis from livestock fencing as recommended by the Beekman Boys. In January I planted sweet peas next to this fence, followed  this month by a planting of Kentucky Wonder pole beans next to the sweet peas.  The beans are only 4 inches high at present but by the time the sweet peas are finished flowering the beans should be well on their way.  

To learn more about vertical gardening, I attended a lecture by Susan Morrison and Rebecca Sweet, authors of “Gardening Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces.”  Their book has great ideas for getting the most out of a small space with edibles as well as ornamentals. 

Tonight I am using some of the zucchini squash blossoms to prepare this dish adapted from “Vegetable Harvest” by Patricia Wells.

Trombetta di Albenga squash  blossom

Zucchini Blossoms Stuffed With Goat Cheese

8 ounces herbed goat's milk cheese

1 dozen zucchini blossoms with immature squash attached if possible

1/4 cup of fresh herbs (thyme, basil and/or parsley) minced

Sea salt

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place a tablespoon of the olive oil in a ceramic baking dish.  Slit the side of each blossom and pipe or spoon in the goat cheese mixture.  Gently press the blossoms closed and place in the ceramic baking dish.  Sprinkle with sea salt, drizzle with olive oil and cover with foil.  Bake for 20+/- minutes, sprinkle with the fresh herbs & serve. 

P.S.  NPR has a terrific segment “Gather Ye Squash Blossoms While Ye May” with more recipes at this link.