These stuffed zucchini were delicious! I bought them at the Farmers’ Market.
They are very fragile and should be cooked within a day or two. I wasn’t sure what I was going to stuff them with, but I knew I didn’t want to go to the store for additional ingredients. Which left me to use what was on hand… and there’s always a lot on hand in my kitchen.
I decided to use goat cheese, since I had an entire log of it. But what to use with it?? I didn’t have any spinach, which would have also been a good choice. I opened the fridge and saw that I had some extra hearts of palm that had been leftover from the day before. They would work perfectly!
Here’s the recipe that I came up with. I don’t measure ingredients in my kitchen, unless I’m baking. So, you don’t need to be exact with this recipe.
INGREDIENTS
12 Zucchini Blossoms
For Stuffing:
1 – 16 oz. log of goat cheese
2 large hearts of palm (they were about 2″ in diameter)
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (if you don’t have that on hand just use a combination of thyme, oregano, and basil)
salt & pepper, to taste
For frying:
1 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of bread crumbs
1 egg, mixed with about 3 Tablespoons of milk
METHOD
I washed the zucchini part of the vegetable, but not the blossoms because they are just too delicate. Then set on paper towels to dry.
Next set up your work station. Place the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl add the egg, along with the milk. Whisk together and set aside.
Now let’s prepare the stuffing. Just put all the ingredients into the food processor and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust to your palate, if necessary.
Pour the oil into a saucepan so that it is about 2 inches deep. When you are about halfway through stuffing the zucchini blossoms turn on medium heat, so by the time you’re finished stuffing the blossoms your pan is ready.
To stuff the zucchini, open the blossom and insert the stuffing using either a pastry bag, or a ziploc baggie with a hole cut in one corner.
(I’m actually using one of my kitchen gadgets.)
After you have stuffed all the zucchini blossoms you will dip them into the egg mixture and then in the bread crumbs, being sure to coat them completely. You have the option of dipping the entire zucchini in the egg and bread crumbs. I left the little zucchini uncoated, but it’s up to you.
Continue the process of dipping each zucchini in the egg and then the breadcrumbs. Once you have breaded all the zucchini blossoms, you’re ready for the next step… to start frying them.
Only put a few in the saucepan at a time, being sure not to crowd them. Once the zucchini blossom has fried on one side, turn it over. They fry up pretty quickly, so keep an eye on them. When one batch is done allow it to drain any excess oil onto paper towels and start the next batch. When they are all fried, arrange them on a plate and serve right away. Enjoy!!
