Fiori di Zucca: Fried Courgette Flowers

In Italy it's typical to eat courgette flowers; in Spain it's less common but it's done too, so you can find them, mainly in summer, at some markets.

While I was in Tuscany recently, my wife saw them at the market and bought them, and, how could it be otherwise, I cooked them.

They're cooked battered in water and flour; you can add a little baking powder, or, as I did, use sparkling water instead of still. Make a not-too-thick batter that coats the flowers well, and fry them in plenty of oil. That's all there is to it.

I made 4 flowers stuffed with mozzarella and 4 plain ones. My diners (my wife and children) all preferred the ones without filling; to tell the truth, the mozzarella, though nicely melted by the heat of frying, didn't add much.

In Italy they stuff them with lots of things, among them bread and cheese, prawns, speck, anchovies; as I said, many and varied things.

In the photo you can see in the background the melon (from Aix) we had for dessert, which we bought at a market in France. All very international and Mediterranean.

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