Courgette Flower Fritters (Fiori Di Zucca Fritti)
Servings Prep. Time Cooking Time Calories % from Fat Fat Sodium Carbohydrates Protein Cholesterol
6 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A


INGREDIENTS:
about 30 (115 g/4 oz) courgette flowers 100 g/3-1/2 oz plain flour 1/2 teaspoon salt
175 ml/6 fl oz soda water oil, for deep frying lemon wedges, to serve
ANCHOVY STUFFING (OPTIONAL): 8 canned anchovy fillets, drained 60 g/2 oz soft white breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons lemon juice 2-3 tablespoons water



1 Gently part the petals of the courgette flowers and pull out the pistils. Trim the stems to 2 cm/3/4 inch. Rinse the flowers and chake them gently. Let stand them on a cloth for about 1 hour to dry.
2 Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add most of the soda water. Using a fork, gradually stir in the flour until incorporated, using more soda water if necessary to give a thickish cream consistency.
3 Heat the oil almost to smoking point-drop in a little batter, which should begin to sizzle immediately. Holding each flower by the stem, dip into the batter, scraping off the excess on the side of the bowl. Drop five or six at a time into the hot oil and deep fry, turning to brown evenly. Remove to crumpled kitchen paper to drain. Pile onto a heated serving platter and serve hot with lemon wedges.
4 FOR ANCHOVY STUFFING VARIATION: Finely chop the anchovies and combine with the remaining stuffing ingredients in a bowl, adding enough water to hold the mixture together. Gently part the flower petals and insert 1 teaspoon of stuffing into each flower. Press the petals together. Dip in the patter and deep fry as above.

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