Tips and Recipes - Sample Menus

STUFFED AND DEEP-FRIED SQUASH BLOSSOMS
(care of Brett Grohsgal, Even’ Star Organic Farm, Lexington Park, MD)

Ingredients:

About 20 squash blossoms, picked over to remove any stray insects
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ c onion, minced
1 T olive oil
optional: ½ cup minced ham, baby shrimp, or sweet corn kernels
1 c ricotta cheese
1/3 c grated mozzarella
2 T grated Romano cheese
1 large egg, beaten and divided into 2 bowls
½ t each salt and pepper
3 T bread crumbs, semolina flour, or coarse yellow corn meal
1/3 c fresh basil, coarsely chopped
at least 2 qt. peanut or corn oil
commercial fish or chicken dredge, or seasoned flour
¼ c milk

Directions:

Saute the garlic, onion, and optional ingredients in the olive oil until the garlic has barely browned. Let cool, then mix into a large bowl these and the three cheeses. Add the salt, pepper, basil, 1 bowl (i.e., ½ beaten egg) egg, and the bread crumbs, corn meal, or semolina and gently mix. Fill each blossom only 2/3 full with this mix (a teaspoon works best) and gently twist the petal tips to close; lay on a cookie sheet after stuffing. Start heating the oil for deep frying. Prepare an egg wash by beating that reserved ½ egg with the milk in a medium-sized bowl. Dredge the stuffed blossoms into the commercial dredge or into about 1 c flour or semolina that you have seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried thyme. Then carefully roll these in the egg wash and re-dredge in the dry floury mix. Deep-fry about 5 at a time, until they float; drain on paper towels. This makes a great appetizer. Also very nice served with a tart dipping sauce such as the Agrodolce sauce of ancient Italy, but more creative dipping sauces may take less time to make than an Agrodolce