Lemon and cheese stuffed courgette flowers

On my recent visit to Provence, one of the first things I snapped up at the market was a packet of baby courgettes (aka zucchini or summer squash) with the bright yellow, fragile flowers still attached. Stuffed courgette flowers are a once a year treat for me. I first fell for them when we lived in California and I bought them at the farmers market there. Then I started growing courgettes, mainly so that I’d have access to the flowers! If you see these at a farmers market, snap them up, or befriend someone who grows them.

Frying without faffing

I rarely deep fry anything but these stuffed courgette flowers are worth it. Rather than properly deep frying, I just cook them in about 2 inches of oil in a large wide pan. The key is to make sure the oil is hot, otherwise the batter will soak it up. You can use a thermometer but I’m old school and just use a cube of bread to check the temperature, when the bread turns golden, the oil is hot enough. Rather than throw the oil away, let it cool, straining it through a muslin or coffee filter and use it for cooking with.

How to serve stuffed courgette flowers

These light, crispy treats are perfect with a glass of fizz to cut through the batter and cheese flavour and are best when eaten straight away. What is key, is to sprinkle the stuffed courgette flowers really well with good salt (Maldon ideally) and a squeeze of lemon before eating them. I serve each person with lemon wedges and their own little bowl of salt when I make them because I’m bossy like that. If you panic at the thought of cooking with an audience, just remember that everyone will be so delighted at having you make these for them that they won’t notice any mess or mistakes.