Fried Zucchini Flowers – Fiori di zucchini fritti
A real eye opener for your guests. There’s no summer for me without fried zucchini flowers and I’m sure that if you’ll try them you won’t be able to resist them either. There are different recipes for the batter some people add egg or milk or both. I like it simple and I often make the batter with water so if you don’t want to use beer there’s no problem. Serve them while they are still warm. Be careful not to eat them when they are too hot though!
Ingredients:
25 fresh zucchini flowers
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups flat beer or water
extra virgin olive oil for frying
salt
Instructions:
1. Open the zucchini flowers and remove the pistil. Wash the flowers under running water and carefully dry them on a towel.
2. In a bowl add the beer to the flour, mix quickly with a fork and stir in a pinch of salt. The batter should have the consistency of pancake batter.
3. Heat the oil, about 1/2-inch deep, in a nonstick pan.
4. Deep the zucchini flowers into the batter and coat them both sides. Allow the excess batter to drip off.
5. When the oil it’s hot add the flowers. Fry them, a few at a time, for about two minutes per side or until golden and crispy.
6. Place them on a paper-towel to absorb the excess oil and add salt to taste.
My mom used to make these when I was a kid and I loved them! I was wondering if they could also be made with pumpkin flowers. We have a pumpkin patch but the rabbits keep eating the small pumpkins and it seems like a waste. I’d rather eat the flowers before the rabbits get to them!
@Serena: Yes, you can fry them.
You have nice recipes and a good website. May I suggest adding pictures for the finished product and also for different steps in the preparation which will help the non-italians like me who have no idea how some finished recipes should look. Thank you.
@Susan: I started this website years ago and I didn’t have a digital camera. I now take pictures for every dish I make and I’m slowly adding pics in the old recipes as well. This will take time though :-)
I do believe you must use the male flowers, and not the female fruit bearing flowers. The male flowers will be found on a longer straight stem. The female flowers are usually on a shorter plump stem. Male flowers are usually the first flowers to be produced on zucchini plants, as the weather warms they are followed by female flowers and then the zucchini fruit.
Thank you very much for your recipes. My Dad used to make squash parties when I was little. He couldn’t keep up with me. My neighbor is letting me have his pumpkin flowers and I couldn’t remember how the parties were made. Thanks again.
Chrissy, I’m glad this recipe brought back good memories.