A short-lived blossom… pick them and eat them while you can!
Zucchini flowers are a delicate seasonal treat, but you have to get the timing just right. When the flowers appear, you only have one day to pick them before they wither and die! So it’s crucial to keep an eye on your plants, and to pick the flowers in the afternoon after the blossoms close. (Of course, you can also buy your zucchini flowers from a nearby farm.)
This supervision and effort pays off, however, because zucchini flowers make the most enchanting fritters! Unfortunately, in my neck of the woods, the season for these delicate treats is fairly short… otherwise, I would happily make them all year long.
One utterly delicious way to eat the blossoms is by stuffing them before pan-frying them – as in these pan-fried zucchini flowers with ricotta and garden herbs.
Succulent, festive, and as light a fried food as you’ll find
But I also love to dip them in this super-light beer batter and pan-fry them on their own, without stuffing them. Prepared this way, the fritters only take minutes to make, yet they turn into the most succulent and festive finger food or appetizer. Enjoy!
Food & wine pairing: Dry Riesling with zucchini flower fritters
A dry Riesling is magnificent with these light fritters, and it’s a classic pairing to boot. The wine’s aromatics pair beautifully with the curried spices, without overpowering the delicate zucchini flowers. Cheers!
Beer-battered zucchini flower fritters with curried tomato coulis
makes 24 fritters or serves 4
active time: 20 min
For the batter
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup light beer
- 1 extra large egg – lightly beaten
For the fritters
- 24 medium zucchini flowers
- light olive oil or high-heat oil for pan-frying (canola or grapeseed)
- fine sea salt to taste
- 1/2 recipe curried tomato coulis
- Step 1:
For the batter – Place the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk until well blended. Add the beer and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Let stand for 5 minutes and then add the egg. Whisk again until well incorporated. - Step 2: Make a small tear lengthwise in each flower and remove the stamen. Heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Add enough oil to come 1/4″ up the sides of the pan. When the oil is hot, quickly dip each flower in the batter and add it to the pan. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until deep-golden in color. Flip the flowers and continue to sauté for 1 to 2 minutes until deep-golden on the other side. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Repeat until all flowers have been used, reducing the heat when the pan gets very hot so that the oil doesn’t burn. (Alternatively, use 2 pans.) Sprinkle the fritters with the sea salt and place them on a large serving platter. Spoon the curried tomato coulis in a dipping bowl and serve alongside the fritters.
- Cook’s note: Serve the fritters piping hot – they’ll become soggy as they cool.
Hi Viviane,
I struggle with the start of my recipes because I’m never sure if I should wash the flower first and if so how do I dry if I indeed wash them.
Anyway, am so excited to test this recipe out.
Hello Rose! Thank you for your note. You must NOT wash zucchini flowers before you cook with them. If there’s anything on them, brush it off with a paper towel or pastry brush, like you would clean mushrooms. I hope you love this recipe and make it all summer long!
Hello Viviane, I recently discovered your recipes and today I made the beer battered zucchini fritters. It is the first time that I use the flowers from my zucchini plants. They were absolutely delicious! Light and crunchy with such a delicate flavour. I am looking forward to my next batch! Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Linda! I am thrilled you enjoyed this zucchini flower recipe. My zucchini plants have kicked in as well for the season and it is a joy to cook with the blossoms! You may enjoy this recipe too https://allweathermedia.com/pan-fried-zucchini-flowers/ the blossoms are stuffed before being pan-fried. It’s a bit more work, but so delicious. Thank you for your note and happy cooking!
I had a volunteer squash plant pop up in my garden that started producing some kind of gourd. It was bountiful with blossoms so when I saw your recipe, I decided to give it a go. I substituted chèvre for the ricotta with great results, but my daughter preferred cheddar. We all loved them! One challenge was stuffing them once the blossoms had closed – it was much easier when they were open. Any suggestions? Thanks again for your incredible, creative, beautiful and inspiring site!
Hi Niko! I am so delighted you tried this recipe – thank you for letting me know and for your kind words. The flowers are superb stuffed, but they are great on their own too… Such an amazing summer treat!
As for your question: Make a slit lengthwise in each flower and remove the stamen. Using a dessert spoon, place a small amount of the stuffing at the base of each flower and twist the petals so that the stuffing is held safely inside the flower.
Here’s a recipe for stuffed flowers https://allweathermedia.com/pan-fried-zucchini-flowers/ It includes the instructions for stuffing the flowers. Last but not least, you can ask any farmer (at your farmers’ market) who grows zucchini if they can sell you the flowers. Most farmers will be very happy to do so. Thanks again and… Buon appetito!
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What a great idea to fry them without stuffing! They look light, crispy, and lovely. I hope I get lucky enough to find some flowers at the farmers’ market soon!
Thank you, Lisa! I just bought 2 dozen at my local farm store. I’ve been making these fritters every weekend… The whole family is addicted to them!
I didn’t even know this was possible. beautiful!!
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These look fabulous! Thanks for the video–I had no idea you had to cut out that little stem inside the flower. I always learn so much from these videos!
Thank you, Mary Lynn! I can’t wait for you to make these zucchini flowers!
I have only prepared zucchini flowers once, I really need to again. And I would so try this recipe, looks delicious and so does that coulis. Could be used on so many thing.
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These zucchini blossoms are gorgeous!
Perfection!! I hope to try zucchini flowers fritter some day. It’s hard to source here in Florida 🙂
I’ve always wanted to try this and your coulis looks fantastic!