Stuffed zucchini flowers in tempura batter

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)

Directions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Dip the zucchini and flowers in the tempura batter recipe and lightly pan fry until the batter is golden and crisp.
5. 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.
6. As an alternative to using tempura batter, you can lightly steam the zucchini until they are cooked.