squash blossoms

In my humble gluten free opinion, squash blossoms are the best food on earth. AND they are SO easy to make GF, even your non GF friends wont know. They are in-season mid-late Summer (and hard to find the rest of the year).

Squash Blossoms are the flower that blooms directly off the squash. They are orange and beautiful AND delicious. Win-Win:

A Blossom of SQUASH!

They can be eaten in many ways, but obviously my favorite way is to deep fry them.

Squash Blossoms ready to be COOKED


Step 1: Make The Filling

1 cup ricotta cheese 
(use non-or low fat to cut down calories)
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Handful of fresh chopped mint
(dried mint is not nearly as yummy, but can be used in a pinch)
1 egg yolk to bind
freshly ground black pepper

Mix everything together until blended.

Step 2: Stuff 'yo Blossoms!

This part is pretty tedious. BUT it's so worth it. Just think about how delicious they will taste. About 2 spoonfuls of the filling per blossom works. Dont over-stuff and make sure you can slightly (and gently) twist the ends off once they are battered. Here is what they look like once they have been stuffed:

Stuffed Blossoms!

Step 3: Make Batter!

Here is the magical GF step of our recipe - Gluten Free Batter (which you can use to fry almost anything). And it couldnt be easier!

3/4 cup Gluten Free Flour.
You can use rice flour, but for the EXACT same taste as normal I use Cup4Cup which was developed by famed French Laundry chef Thomas Keller and is the first GF flour on the market that can be exactly substituted for regular flour.
1 cup seltzer or club soda (COLD!)
WHISK TOGETHER!
Sometimes I like to get fancy and throw some extra grated Parmesan into the batter. This is up to you. Make sure you are twisting the end of the flower before you batter so the insides stay inside and the batter stays outside.
I batter all mine at once and put on a plate. Here they are ready to be fried post batter bath:

Blossoms Post Batter.

NOTE: If you know you will be pressed for time, you can stuff and make batter and refrigerate. Then cover with batter and fry when you are ready to eat. 

 Step 4: FRY!!!!!!!!!!

This is my favorite part, mainly because it means all the work is behind me and I can eat soon. Fill a heavy bottom pan (I use cast iron, but use what you got) with about 2-2.5 inches of Canola or Vegetable oil. Dont use olive oil bc it wont work! Place blossoms in HOT oil (to test, drop the tiniest pinch of flour in the oil, if it sizzles, oil is ready). Make sure to give them a little room to breathe don't jam it full, it usually takes me 2-3 batches.  Flip them 1/2 way through, and make sure they are GOLDEN BROWN before removing from oil. Here they are frying:

Squash Blossoms Mid-Fry

Remove and place on a paper towel to soak up any extra grease and cool slightly before serving. Serve immediately!

Et voila! Serve with marinara sauce for dipping (optional) and be prepared for your dinner guests to oooo and ahhhh over your culinary genius. Don't worry if some of the cheese gets out, they will still taste the yummiest. Here are my completed blossoms in all their delicious glory:

Final Product

And, because this picture kind of sucks, here is a professional image of the final product:



Image credit