Deep fried courgette flowers – easy & pure indulgence

Deep fried courgette flowers are one of the flavours that reminds me of childhood. We used to spend our summers in Sorento, on the Amalfi Coast. My mum is a Swedish-Italian translator, so loves all things Italian. She made us these juicy treats from the freshness found on this stunning cost. (Of course, she’d curse me for not calling them zucchini flowers).

So in case you weren’t aware, it’s not only the courgette fruit that’s edible. The flower, once cooked, is delicate and juicy. You can stuff it, fry it, or like I’ll show you here, deep fried courgette flowers in batter.

As you know, I’m normally not one to deep fry things. But tonight was an exception. I found myself alone at home, preparing for my Chalk & Moss stall at the Swedish midsummer celebrations tomorrow. The garden was looking so pretty that I got a bit distracted and picked the pretty courgette flowers (sorry mum, I mean zucchini), ready for my lone at home treat!

I’ve not had a huge amount of success with the vegetable garden this year (although I’ve been quite good at growing weeds…). But courgettes (I’m sticking to courgettes from now on) are actually remarkably easy to grow. Maybe they’re too spiky for slugs to go there. (although I’m not on the panel of Gardeners’ Question Time would say about this)

Oh by the way, to stay organised in your garden and home tasks, check out the new botanical print garden diary, meal planner, recipe books and more by Wald (there are some images at the bottom of this post with links too).

If you don’t have your own vegetable garden, I picked some courgette flowers at a Pick Your Own Farm in Sussex last summer, so that’s always a good one to try if you have one nearby.

I was planning to keep some of the flowers for the picnic tomorrow, but, well, that didn’t happen. There were only 5…

So now I’d like to share with you how easy it is to make deep friend courgette flowers. This particular recipe comes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on The Guardian. The images are my own, from tonight’s treat.

You simply mix flour with enough very cold water to make the consistency of thick paint. Add a bit of olive oil and season with salt and petter to taste. Dip the courgette flowers into the batter or spread it on with a spoon. (You can add some chopped parsley and/or Parmesan too if you like). Then fry the battered flowers in sunflower, canola or olive oil. It doesn’t have to be deep fried, but you do want a good amount. When they are golden all round, they’re ready to enjoy. And oh, how you will enjoy them!

How to make deep fried courgette flowers

Step 1: Pick the young flours (you can pick the flower and a small courgette as one and batter the lot)

Step 2: Make the batter (the consistency of extra thick double cream) and add the flowers

Step 3: Fry in oil until golden (these aren’t done yet)

Step 4: Place on a pretty plate, pour a glass of wine and enjoy!

Let me know how you get on in the comments or on social media (@chalkandmoss)! If you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Do check out the gardeners’ journal and meal plans, that just arrived in the Chalk & Moss online shop.  Click the image to go straight to the product in the shop: