Fried Squash Blossoms

Squash blossoms are not bursting with flavor; however, like so many other wonderful food ingredients the underlying savory and buttery flavors combined with a unique velvet-like texture make them a great item to dredge in flour and spices, stuff with cheese (if you so desire) and fry. Once you try one I will promise that you will burn your fingers and the roof of your mouth by eating a second before it has cooled enough, they are that good!
In terms of taking you away from work these fried blossoms of goodness take a bit of prep work, and if you don’t have anyone cleaning up for you, they dirty a bunch of dishes that will take a while to clean. The actual cooking is really quick and the process once you get the hang of it is pretty easy. If you are looking for something that really takes your mind away from your work these will do the trick as they are hands on all the way through and really don’t have much down time once you get started. The reward is a very unique dish that sounds impressive when you share it with others and tastes equally impressive.

To make the cooking process easy and as streamlined as process, preparation is key for this one. Normally I am a rather free spirit in the kitchen, doing things at the last minute, changing what I am doing mid process and generally disregarding any sort of organization (amazing how cooking styles can mirror life at time). However, when putting together an assembly line (which is basically what you are doing when building a frying station) it is best to stick to your plan.

So here is what you need to set up for cooking. These are in order from furthers away from your heat toward your burner.
One large bowl or piece of Tupperware filled with water and ice (for the squash blossoms)
Optional: One small plate to place sliced cheese for stuffing
One shallow bowl for your wet mix
One shallow bowl for your dry mix
One wok or deep frying pan for frying.
One plate lined in napkins on the other side of the stove to place the finished blossoms on to cool.
With a good station like this set it makes it easy to do your best to keep one hand “wet” and one hand “dry” which will limit the amount of sticky flour paste that will build up on your hands. While it is great in theory for those of us that that have one really dominate hand chances are all good intentions will go right out the window and instead you will have a roll of paper towels ready to continually clean off your hands.

Ingredients:
Squash Blossoms – these are highly seasonal so be sure to make this when the farmers market has them, or they are on the squash plants you have in your garden (should you be so lucky)
1-2 eggs
½ cup to 1 cup of all purpose flour

~ 2 teaspoons salt (since the flavor the salt is noticeable I try to use a high quality sea salt)
~ 1 teaspoon crack black pepper
~ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
~ ½ - 1 teaspoon paprika
~ ½ teaspoon ground sage
~1/4 – ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Basque shepherds cheese (Manchengo cheese or really any type of cheese that you enjoy, though personally I would stay away from cheddar and swisses for this dish)
Vegetable or canola oil for frying (the amount will depend on the pot/wok you are doing your frying in) Make sure you have enough to create a vat of hot oil deep enough to allow the blossoms to float while frying.
A quick note on spices: What I have listed is just a general mix that I have found particularly pleasing to me. However, playing around with both the amount and the type of spices that you put into this mix is really key to making this dish well. Everyone will have a different set of flavors that they think work. I use different amounts and spices if I am stuffing the squash blossoms with cheese or just frying them up without. Part of my general dislike for cook books is that people too often follow them without question. Trust in yourself to know the flavors that you like best. If they don’t work together, well than you have learned a lesson for next time.

Preparation (part 1):
Place your squash blossoms in the ice water. To this day every time I make this I wonder why the blossoms need to be cold, but for some reason they come out much better when they are really cold heading into the cooking process. I also remove the stamen (as well as the rest of the inner workings of the flowers). This isn’t necessary but they don’t taste quite as pleasant as the rest of the flower so I think it is worth the extra time.
Beat the egg with a few tablespoons of water to make the wet mix
Mix together the flour and spices to make the dry mix.
Cut your cheese into small strips, probably no more than an inch in length unless you have some really big squash blossoms.
Get your frying oil ready to heat.
Now that you have your assembly line all set to go you are ready to get frying.

Preparation (part 2)
While the oil is heating take your first squash blossom and gently squeeze off excess water.
If you are stuffing the blossoms with cheese place the cheese inside the petals and give them a small twist to create an enclosed space
Then dip the flower in the egg mixture.
Once it is well coated, hold the blossom above the bowl and allow excess egg to drip back into the bowl.
Then move the blossom into the flour mixture. Make sure that all sides are well coated.

Gently drop the blossom into the hot oil.
As this point you can start prepping a second blossom
Let the blossom cooking in the oil for around a minute. Then flip it over and let it cook for another minute.
Remove (with slotted or wired spoon to allow oil to drip) and place on paper towel covered plate to cool.

I normally have no more than three blossoms in the oil at any time. You don’t want your oil to cool down too much as you are cooking. If the oil is not hot enough than the flour mixture and the flower itself soaks up too much oil and you get a far less appetizing very oily bite. When done right the blossoms come out slightly crispy on the outside but it is still easy to tell that you are eating the petals of a flower.