040: Fried, Sea-Salty Zucchini Flowers

For apéro hour baby

Welcome to Home Cooking Diary, a newsletter on my journey as a home cook—the successes and failures alike. Cooking log, photo diary, and recipe recommender. Here I am offering up the simplest recipe for what I think is a pretty impressive snack for apéro hour.

When I was standing in line at the farmers market to buy these zucchini flowers I began chatting with the woman in line in front of me, and she asked how I prepare them. Without thinking too much about it I described the following preparation, which could not be more simple. Lightly fry them by slipping them by their stem into oil, until they are lightly browned—or as browned as you like—sprinkling them with sea salt before eating (immediately).

It wasn’t until I was making these yesterday that I had the feeling I was forgetting something. As I slipped the first one in I realized that they are normally lightly battered, even this unstuffed version, which is no minor detail, ha. Last summer I experimented with a few different versions of fried squash blossoms, so I think I imagined this easier version, but no, I battered those as well.

Frying in less than an inch of neutral oil. I was running low on oil and this amount worked just fine to fry these batter-less flowers).

I despaired not only of possibly messing up the delicate flowers before me (no I didn’t have the willingness to start over), but also of giving the woman at the farmer’s market bad advice. Nevertheless, I forged ahead and fried them all up anyway. They didn’t brown in the same way, but I loved them. I wouldn’t change a thing.

I still live for the battered version—and the version stuffed with cheese first—and I hope there is still time in zucchini season to make them both. But this way allows the mild flavor and color and texture of the blossoms to really sing. They are impossibly light for something fried, and there is very little—practically zero—prep. This took me less than ten minutes. I also like it for how approachable it is for someone new to cooking zucchini flowers. I hope this comes across as the least intimidating and pretentious (at least by edible flowers’ standards) recipe you’ve ever read. Please enjoy.

xo AV

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The Simplest Fried Zucchini Flowers

Ingredients

A dozen (but I suggest more) zucchini flowers (aka squash blossoms)

Neutral oil, plus a tablespoon or two of olive oil

Sea salt

Method

1. Prepare the blossoms by cutting them down one side using kitchen scissors, so that the flower can lay slightly open, and trim the stem to about 1.5-2 inches. Line a plate with a paper towel.

2. Heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, and pour in an inch of neutral oil, plus a tablespoon or two of high quality olive oil for flavor. Once the oil is shimmering, pick each up by the stem and gently slip them into the oil. Fry in batches, taking care not to over-crowd the pan. After a minute or two flip each blossom and repeat on the other side.

3. Once done, place each one on the paper-lined plate to absorb excess oil, and immediately dust with high-quality flaky sea salt, like Maldon.

4. Serve and enjoy immediately, alongside a very cold light beer or spritz or gin and tonic or the lightest white wine you can find. Imagine you’re in Rome.

I hated myself for not having triple this on hand.