Today I was reminiscing about how when we were youngsters we would forage our way thru the neighborhood! We ate everything that even looked good, including flowers the more colorful the better! Luckily we never got sick :o That brought into mind a strange dish I was served at an Italian Restaurant in Monterey, CA. I marveled at the creativity of frying up squash blossoms totally forgetting that I ate blossoms my entire childhood only NOT FRIED!

But here's the best I can remember of that unique dish.... Squash Blossoms (about 5 inch's long and open leaving just enough of the stamen located near the beginning of the stem)to keep the blossom from falling apart, they were lightly coated in a thin batter and deep fried. These were served hot and delicate flavored.

Anyone else out there ever had these? Let me know.

CCCathy

I've had them several times, in a number of incarnations. All good.

Strange thing is I've never been able to replicate them at home. They always come out wilted and soggy, no matter what batter I use or how hot the oil.

Many times the "petals" are frozen after battered to hold up better. In our family they were battered, sometimes just breaded and fried. My neighbor rais my garden for my squash and pumpkin flowers all the time!

I will dig up the old cookbook with the family recipes for you on this.

That will be really nice Mama. Not that this is the season for blossoms! But it pays to be prepared, just in case I have a friend that can let go of a few blossoms!

I always thought the batter was from a corn starch base, being as light and crispy as it was. Kind of like the batter that Chinese cooks use, I recall them being a very light tempura.

Now it seemed to me it was sort of a novelty dish, as it really contained very little substance.:o! I remember thinking "Boy I wonder who would want to pick their blossoms and loose a perfectly good squash in the process"! Of course squash can be mighty prolific as any gardener knows;)!

Have A great weekend, CCCathy

Plus if you use the male blossoms you can have your cake and eat it to.