Stuffed, deep-fried Zucchini Flowers

Okay, so the truth is that rainy, cold weekends are a bit of a chill-fest in our household…as soon as I am awakened by the gentle tapping of rain on a Saturday morning, I know that I will be conducting my chores in pj’s until 1pm. Sometimes you can also see me faffing around in the kitchen while I dance to my favourite song…yes, it is the simple things in life that makes me happy J

As this past weekend weather reflected the aforementioned gloomy requirements, it was only mandatory that I donned my comfy pyjamas, and start experimenting in the kitchen. I was very excited to try out a recipe with zucchini (courgette) flowers that I got from this new and exciting local food market in Oranjezicht (story to follow shortly).

This is a simple yet delicious recipe to try out, although I have to admit that stuffing the courgette flowers takes a bit of time and patience…

Hope you enjoy it…it’s worth a try!

Ingredients

10 zucchini (courgette) flowers

½ a tub of cream cheese

A disc of feta

Zest and juice of half a lemon

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

200g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

250ml ice cold water (carbonated water works best)

Sunflower oil for deep frying

Method

Combine the cream cheese, lemon zest and lime together in a bowl. Crumble in the feta cheese, and season with salt and pepper.

Open the delicate zucchini flowers, and pipe the cream cheese filling into the cavity. Wrap the leaves of the flower around the cream cheese filling to seal.

Prepare the batter: Mix together the flour, bicarbonate and salt in a bowl. Gradually add the water, whisking well to form a batter.

Dip the stuffed courgette flowers into the batter and transfer to hot oil to deep fry for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Serve immediately with final sprinkling of salt and squeeze of lemon juice.