From the Castle Kitchen: Stuffed & Pan-Fried Zucchini Flowers

Serves 4 people (24 pieces total)

Note: weight given in ( ) is not to be confused with volume

This is our favourite appetiser come the end of summer. As the sun’s glow begins to fade a bit earlier and the garden quickly fills-in with a variety of squash, pumpkins, and gords - and their vibrant yellow star-like flowers - we’re at the ready, basket in-hand.

And, as with every dish, quality ingredients make all the difference. That said, if you do not have access to fresh-made cottage cheese, there are many suitable substitutes such as cream cheese, or ricotta from the grocers that you can use.

Filling

• 125 g of fresh-twarog (a Polish style of cottage cheese)

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of fresh milk

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

• 1 small bunch of chives, finely chopped

• 1 large pinch of flakey, Maldon sea salt

• 1/2 of a lemon, zested

• fresh cracked black pepper

Batter - equal parts water and flour

• 1 cup (120 g) of traditionally milled all-purpose flour, free from improvers, preservatives or chemical additives - ours is from local Młyn Skokowa

• 1 cup (240 g) of water, chilled

• 3/4 tsp baking soda

• pinch of sea salt

• oil for pan-frying (not deep frying), we suggest olive oil or rape seed oil.

Key Ingredient:

• 20 -24 fresh-picked zucchini flowers (medium in size, about 5 cm long)

Assuming your zucchini flowers are a bit dirty, start by spraying them with water. To avoid damaging or drowning them, use a bottle with water dispersed via mist setting. Then, delicately use your thumb and forefinger to pluck out the stamens. If you slightly tare the petals in the process, do not worry - these will seal back up when battered,

Set flowers aside for a few minutes on a fresh kitchen linen or several layers of paper towel, to wick up the remaining moisture from the flowers while you make the filling.

In a medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients together with a fork.

Add your oil to a frying pan and set on medium-high heat: we use number 7. Place kitchen linen or paper towel next to frying pan. Once pan-fried, place flowers her so that the excess oil wicks up into the towel.

Once the pan is hot, select flowers one by one, dredge in batter and let the excess drip back into the batter, then delicately place them in the oil. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook for a minute and a half, and flip once with a fork and spoon, and cook for an additional minute until golden brown - about 3 minutes total.