Squash Blossoms! Hooray!

July 21, 2013

Squash Blossoms! Hooray!

For anyone who follows our blog, it will be a known fact that amongst other things, I am a very big advocate for all of the following:

~eating in season

~eating locally

AND

~eating organically

Better for your body, better for the Earth.
So while I agree it should be a goal to follow these guidelines in choosing your foods, of all the seasons, Summer is my favorite season to do so.

Taken from my Pinterest board, I fully concur. Just add "food tastes better".

Maybe it's the heliophilliac in me but everything tastes better when it's grown in the warm rays of the summer sun. Most of my favorite of dishes (excluding french silk, heehee) are made from the bounty of my summer garden. Nearly all of my favorite posts on this blog bear my excitement over such dishes. If you don't believe me, check out the link list at the end of this post. ;)

And so . . .

I bring you one of my personal favorites:

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

(vegan/gluten-free)

INGREDIENTS:

About 10-12 freshly picked summer squash blossoms

Tofu Ricotta Filling:

1 lb. of extra firm tofu
1 large clove of fresh garlic

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2-1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. olive oil

about 10 fresh basil leaves or 3-4tsp. of dried basil

"Egg" Wash:

1 tbsp. of chia or ground flax seed

1 tbsp. of water

I whipped up a batch of each because I wanted to experiment a bit; see which option I liked best.

Breading:

1 c. almond flour

1/2 cup of GF flour of your choice

1 tbsp. each garlic and onion powder

1 tsp. each sea salt and pepper

1 tsp. turmeric (optional)

~To prepare your blossoms for stuffing, remove both the stamen and stems, taking care not to rip the fragile petals. You may also rinse them however I find that a gentle dusting does the trick. This is also an ideal time to check for any little garden bugs that may have sought refuge inside. All part of the fun of organic gardening! heehee

~Combine the filling ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until a smooth (ricotta-like) consistency.


It should look something like this.

~Prepare your egg wash mixture. Doing this now will allow time for it to "gel" while you stuff your blossoms.

I decided to try both and see which I liked better. Though I thought the chia would add a bit of a crispy texture, in the end there wasn't a noticeable difference. The flax wash was easier to work with (though neither were dippable and I had to use a bit of a smearing technique with both). The color was also a little weird with the chia, gave the blossom a greyish tint so I would vote in favor of the flax for a more estethically pleasing choice, as well.

To make your egg wash, measure out your seeds and add water. Give it a little stir and then allow to sit in the fridge for 15 minutes. Remove and stir lightly. Mine was so stiff, probably fine for baking but since I was making a wash, I did add a little bit more water and gave it another stir. Either way, it's use-able.

~Carefully stuff your blossoms with the tofu ricotta filling. I use just my hands, holding the blossom in one hand while pushing the filling gently down into the blossom. (See photo below)

Fill them just far enough that you can twist/press the top of the petals together.

They will look like this when done.

~Mix all of your breading ingredients in a large bowl.

~Gently cover each blossom in "egg wash" using a wiping motion to remove excess; leaving just enough to allow for the breading mixture to stick.

~Fill a heavy bottomed pan (I use cast iron) with a shallow layer of cooking oil and heat over med-high heat. When hot enough, carefully place battered blossoms in the pan. These cook very fast so a minute or two on each side is usually all that is needed.