Zucchini Flower Fritters
Zucchini flower fritters is a delightful crisp Italian appetizer made simply by dipping delicate zucchini flowers into a light batter and fried until perfectly golden brown.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups sparkling water or beer
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 12 zucchini flowers
- 6 medium sized basil leaves
- Vegetable oil
- Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
- Lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, add the flour, sparkling water and salt and pepper and whisk until combined and thick, similar to a pancake batter. Set aside.
- Pour enough oil into a medium sized skillet, so it comes up about ¼ inch in the pan. Bring the oil up to 360-370 degrees Fahrenheit. You can test the oil with a toothpick or a small pice of batter, it it sizzles right away, the oil is ready.
- Gently open up the squash blossom and remove the small stem from inside the flower being careful not to tear the delicate petals.
- Dip a zucchini flower into the batter so all of the flower is evenly coated with the batter and gently place in the hot oil. Fry the zucchini flower fritter on the first side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, then turn over and fry on the other side for another 2 minutes until golden and crisp. Continue frying in batches.
- Do the same with the basil leaves and fry for 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown.
- Once done, transfer the flower fritters to wire lined baking sheet so excess oil drips off and the fritter stays crisp.
- To serve, place the fritters on a platter and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and lemon wedges, for serving
Notes
- Use squash blossoms the same day they are harvested or purchased because they will wilt quickly.
- If cutting your own squash blossoms, cut the flowers in the morning when they are open.
- Don't wash the zucchini flowers, just give them a simple wipe if there's any dirt on them.
- Don't overcrowd the pan. The more fritters added, the lower the temperature will drop.