Stuffed courgette flowers, with ricotta and herbs, are one of the true delicacies of the summer garden. The flavour of the courgette flower, attached to a baby courgette, is subtle and slightly sweet. The flowers are perfect for stuffing, frying, and serving as a summer starter with ‘wow’ factor. Courgette flowers are truly a major bonus of growing your own courgettes.
Summer Gold – a perk of growing your own
Courgette flowers are one of summer’s most beautiful ingredients – delicate, bright and fleeting, the kind of thing you only get when the garden is in full swing. These stuffed courgette flowers with ricotta and herbs look fancy, but they’re relatively simple to cook. With a little patience and some careful handling, stuffing them really turns them into something special.
All the flavours of summertime
These stuffed courgette flowers are filled with a creamy ricotta mixture, lifted with fresh herbs and lemon zest. The flowers wrap gently around the filling, creating soft, golden parcels. They’re light, summery and make the perfect starter, lunch or side dish when courgettes are at their peak. If you grow your own courgettes, you’ll know how quickly the flowers appear – and how quickly they disappear. Picking them in the morning, when they’re open and fresh, gives you the best results.
Serve them warm with a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkling or sea salt and perhaps a drizzle of hot honey. They’re delicate but full of flavour, and they make the most of one of summer’s loveliest ingredients. A beautiful way to celebrate courgette season.
Other courgette recipes
Here are some other courgette starter recipes:
Growing Courgettes
Courgettes are remarkably easy to grow in the UK and are perfect for beginner gardeners. They thrive in the British climate when planted after the last frost (typically late May or early June) and can produce abundant harvests from just two plants throughout the summer months, making them one of the most easiest and rewarding vegetables to plant at home.
Courgettes like a rich, well-composted soil, and above all else, constant watering – especially in hot weather – as plants can produce 1-2 courgettes per day. Ensure you regularly harvest the courgettes to encourage further production.
Oregano would be a good complementary alternative to basil in this stuffed courgette flower recipe.
Stuffed Courgette Flowers with Ricotta and Herbs
Ingredients
- 8-12 small courgettes with flowers attached
- 2 tbsp pine nuts toasted and crushed
- 200-250 g ricotta
- 2 tbsp basil leaves finely chopped
- ½ lemon zested
- black pepper
- ½ tsp sea salt plus extra for sprinkling before serving
- 100 g 00 flour or strong plain flour
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 200 ml sparkling water chilled
- lemon wedges optional to serve
- hot honey optional to serve
Instructions
- Firstly, prepare your courgette flowers. Carefully separate the petals and remove the stamens. Then, using a cotton bud, remove any small bugs, insects, or anything else that might have gotten into the flowers.
- Toast your pine nuts over a medium-high heat in a small dry frying pan, flipping them regularly to ensure they don’t burn. When toasted, crush with a pestle and mortar.
- Add the ricotta to a bowl along with the toasted pine nuts, chopped basil leaves, lemon zest, and the seasoning. Give everything a good mix.
- Taking your courgette flowers, pry apart the petals and gently spoon in some filling. Don’t overfill them. Then twist the petals into a point to seal. You can do this with a piping bag if you prefer.
- Make your batter by adding the flour to a large bowl, then the extra virgin olive oil. Pour in the chilled sparkling water, whisking constantly, until you have a smooth batter.
- In a large non-stick frying pan, add enough oil to cover the bottom by 1cm. Heat until shimmering.
- Take your courgettes and dip them in the batter, shake off the excess, and add 3 or 4 courgettes at a time to the hot oil.
- Fry the courgettes until crisp and golden on one side, and then flip them over and repeat on the other side. Of course, if you have a deep-fat fryer, you can also do them in there.
- Remove them to a plate lined with kitchen paper when done and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Serve alongside lemon wedges and with a drizzle of hot honey if you like.