Stuffed zucchini flower (Fiori di zucca ripieni)

The flowers already stuffed and fried

The zucchini flower is one of the few flowers that can be eaten since most of the existing ones are inedible or directly poisonous. In Italy they are extremely popular to the extent that they can be bought in street stalls as if they were pizza al taglio, serving you a few units in a paper cone. They can also be bought in supermarkets, already stuffed and frozen, to fry at home. Come on, it is not an eccentricity or a rarity, if not something quite common. What do they taste like? Well, same like zucchini, neither more nor less.

In case you can't imagine where the flowers come from

In most cases it is usually fried but the recipe can also be made using the oven.

INGREDIENTS :

• 12 zucchini flowers
• 250 grams (9 oz) of ricotta or white cheese
• 100 grams (3.5 oz)  of ham cooked in cubes
• 50 grams (1.7 oz) of Parmesan cheese or grana padano
• 1 egg
• Wheat flour
• Sunflower, canola or corn oil

First we wash the flowers under the tap and dry well. This part is important.

Another important step is to remove the central pistil. It is very bitter, so it is essential to remove it. The best way to do this is to remove the stem and drag the pistil out with it.

In a bowl, mix the white cheese, the diced ham and the Parmesan or grana padano cheese. We make twelve servings and fill the flowers.

In another bowl, beat the egg with half a teaspoon of salt and add flour little by little until obtaining a fairly liquid porridge. We bathe the stuffed flowers in this mass and drain them well.

While we heat oil in abundance in a deep frying pan and when it is very hot we fry the flowers until they are golden brown. We extract, removing the excess oil on a kitchen paper or on a rack.

They are eaten hot but it is not strange to eat them cold either. They are really good.