Zucchini blossoms with frizzled capers and green garlic

Fresh zucchini blossoms, about to become fried zucchini blossoms
Fresh zucchini blossoms, about to become fried zucchini blossoms

A not-so-fringe benefit to growing squash is having access to the loveliest edible of the summer. Squash blossoms! So dang perty. They are usually stuffed with ricotta cheese and fried in batter which is (of course) delicious but we didn’t have a lot of them and didn’t want to do a whole fried bonanza so we just sautéed them in a bit of olive oil until they were wilty and brown and then frizzled some capers and garlic to go over them. It took about 5 minutes and ended up being really tasty. The fried zucchini blossoms become silky and translucent, almost like stained glass. Of course, they wilt down to nothing so don’t plan on this being dinner but if you grow squash, fried zucchini blossoms is a pretty good way to use the flowers without a lot of fuss.

We used the last of our green garlic (young, hard neck garlic from the farmers market) which is milder than regular grocery-store garlic. Either would work though so don’t sweat it.

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Fried zucchini blossoms

Ingredients 

  • 10 or so Squash Blossoms, rinsed and dried, stamens removed
  • 2 large cloves of green garlic, or 1 clove regular garlic, sliced thin
  • 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet on medium-high until the oil is just shimmering. Add the blossoms and cook until they are wilted and slightly brown on one side, about 2-3 minutes. Turn and wilt other side 1-2 minutes. Take them out and move them to a paper towel-lined plate.

If the skillet is dry, add another half tablespoon of olive oil but you’ll probably have enough left from the blossoms. Add the garlic and capers, tossing until the garlic is lightly browned and  the capers pop a bit. Add the capers and garlic to the paper towel for a sec. Move the blossoms to a serving plate and sprinkle with the garlic and capers.

Nerd tips:

  • Brown garlic = delicious. Burned garlic = disgusting. Be careful when cooking with garlic so it doesn’t get too dark. It turns horribly bitter.
  • Frizzled capers are amazing on all kinds of fish, and work great on these fried zucchini blossoms.
  • Whether from the garden or the farmers market, make sure to check your blossoms for critters. Sautéed beetle is a different recipe.

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