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Recipes

Squash Blossoms Two Ways

It’s squash blossom season … and here’s a delicious recipe for squash blossoms two ways with Ricotta Cheese and Blackberry Sauce.

I’m never going to pass up an opportunity to stuff something with cheese and fry it.  Frankly, no one should.  So, when I saw these gorgeous squash blossoms at the farmers’ market last week … instant glee!

I decided to stuff half of the squash blossoms with a traditional ricotta filling and the other half with a blackberry ricotta filling (thought I’d make them healthy 😉 ).  Now I could go on and on and spend the next few paragraphs talking about how delicious these squash blossoms were … or you could just try them yourself (especially the blackberry version)!

Ingredients:

  • 16 squash blossoms (click here to learn more about squash blossoms)
  • Oil for frying (I used canola oil)

Traditional squash blossom filling:

  • 6oz full fat ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Blackberry squash blossom filling:

  • 6oz full fat ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp blackberry sauce

Batter:

Blackberry sauce:

  • 1 cup blackberries
  • 1-3 tbsp sugar (this will depend on how sweet or tart your berries are, more sweet=less sugar.  more tart=more sugar.)
  • 1/4 water


Directions:

Make the blackberry sauce so it has time to cool.  In a saucepan, add your blackberries, sugar and water.  Cook on medium/medium-high heat until your berries break down and you develop a thick jam-like consistency.  Make sure to keep an eye on this mixture and stir regularly as it can burn quickly.  As I’d stir, I’d also mash the berries to speed up the process.  Once the mixture has cooked down and thickened, strain into a bowl so you remove all of the seeds (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!).  Let cool while you prepare the squash blossoms and fillings. 

Clean your squash blossoms.  Make sure each one is bug free, then remove the stamen or stigma from inside.  Fill a bowl of water and gently submerge the blossoms to remove any dirt.  Remove from water and place on a towel to dry before stuffing and drying (this is important because the batter won’t stick to wet squash blossoms).

In one bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the “traditional” filling.  Take half of the blossoms and begin to fill each one with about a tablespoon of the filling.  Make sure not to overfill as it will seep out into the hot oil.

In another bowl — and once the blackberry sauce has cooled — mix together all of the ingredients for the “blackberry” filling.  Stuff the remaining squash blossoms.

Mix together flour and seltzer water for the batter (I’ve also added paprika to the batter on occasion).  Stir until the batter is smooth.  (It will be thinner than pancake batter.)  

In a deep saucepan (or deep fryer) heat oil to 350 degrees F.  Once oil is hot, dip the filled blossoms into the batter and then place directly into the oil.  Only add a few at a time so that the oil doesn’t cool down too much.  Once each squash blossom is golden brown, remove from oil and place on a cooling rack.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  

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