Watch how we keep things simple in real life — no complicated routines, just what works.
When I think of delectable summer eats, zucchini flowers come to mind. These delicate flowers are delicious battered or stuffed. Although most of my kiddos (and my grown kiddo- my husband) prefer the plain battered version, I like to “ADULTIFY IT” by stuffing the flowers with even more summer flavor. What can I say? A girl loves her flavor! Another summer favorite is to use all that wonderful fresh garden basil to make pesto. In our Adultified zucchini flowers the stuffing is made with ricotta cheese, pecorino romano cheese, fresh mozzarella cheese, garlic, prosciutto and pesto. The pesto adds to the summery flavors bursting out of these flowers and they are finished with an acidic note from a drizzle of balsamic glaze, which takes these flowers over the top! We sure hope you try them and let us know what you think!
Ingredients for Zucchini Flowers
- Zucchini Flowers- Two dozen
- Ricotta cheese- 1.5 cups
- Garlic minced- 4 cloves
- Proscuitto (¼ pound- 4 ounces)
- Basil Pesto- 3 Tablespoons
- Pecorino Romano Cheese- ½ cup
- Fresh Mozzarella Cheese- ½ pound
Ingredients for Batter
- Canola oil- for frying
- All purpose flour- 2 cups
- Baking powder- ½ tsp
- Salt- 1 tsp
- Pepper- ½ tsp
- Soda Water (plain seltzer)- with ice- 1 cups (or less)
Directions
- First gently remove the stamen from the inside of the zucchini flower and rinse the flowers
- Lay the flowers on paper towel to dry out for 15-20 minutes
- While the flowers dry make the filling by combining the fresh mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, minced garlic, prosciutto, basic pesto and pecorino romano
- Mix the batter by combining the all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and soda water
- When flowers are dry add about a tablespoon of filling per flower
- Heat canola oil in a pan or cast iron skillet
- When oil is heated, batter the zucchini flowers and add them to the hot oil to fry until crisp
- If your kids (and husband) are like mine, you may want to make some extra batter and batter some of the flowers without stuffing for them to enjoy