Dianna Appleton, owner and founder of Equagold, shares her recipe for a delicious dish using zucchini and their flowers. She shares her recipe with Bite's Joanna Mathers.
Tempura batter
| 1 cup | Water, ice cold |
| 1 | Egg |
| 1 cup | Flour, sifted |
Stuffed zucchini
| 1 Tbsp | Olive oil |
| 3 | Zucchini, with flowers attached. Allow 2-3 per person. (Main) |
| ½ | Red onions |
| 1 | Garlic clove, crushed |
| ½ cup | Pine nuts, roasted |
| ¾ cup | Breadcrumbs, soft and white |
| 75 g | Feta |
| 6 | Kalamata olives, chopped |
| 1 tsp | Ras el hanout, heaped. (Moroccan spice blend sold through Equagold) |
| 1 tsp | Lemon, grated zest |
| 1 Tbsp | Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped |
| 1 tsp | Tomato paste, (optional) |
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Directions
- For the batter, beat the egg in a bowl. Add the ice water (be sure to have the water really icy cold), add sifted flour and mix very lightly, do not over-mix.
- For the zucchini stuffing, heat a non-stick pan over low heat, add garlic and onion and cook until they are translucent. Turn off heat and add the remaining ingredients to the pan. Mix well and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Gently open the zucchini flowers and remove the inner stamen. Place approximately 1 tsp of the mix in each flower, and carefully close the flower petals together to enclose the filling.
- Dip the zucchini and flowers in the tempura batter recipe and lightly pan fry until the batter is golden and crisp.
- Serve with a fresh tomato salsa made with finely chopped tomatoes (deseeded), finely chopped red onion, chopped Italian parsley, 2 Tbsp lemon juice and seasoned with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
- As an alternative to using tempura batter, you can lightly steam the zucchini until they are cooked.
