Zucchini flowers

It was the first few years of this century when I was served zucchini flowers. Somewhere up in the restaurant in Monaco, a waiter brought me a plate. There it lay - a puffed up flower filled with minced meat. Thank God I was an open-minded soul, as someone would have freaked out and left the plate as it is. Instead, I started to cut it. At first, there was a crunch that my knife went through, followed by a soft interior. I put that first piece in my mouth and, my God, how good it was. I could not believe it. Later that week, I had a few more bites of zucchini flowers filled with ricotta. Afterward, whenever possible, I ordered them (not in Latvia though, since the concept of eating courgette flowers is still not received with open arms) in every restaurant I saw the dish on the menu. 

Zucchini flowers are something very Italian. Every household in spring fills them with ricotta or meat and fries to the highest crunchies possible. It is a very traditional way to start a meal. You can eat both - female and male flowers, but it is wiser to cut male ones, as females are the ones that will later turn into a zucchini. Cutting female ones helps the zucchini stay on a tinier size rather than growing enormous. 

Although the most popular way to eat them is filled and fried, I love to add these delicate flowers to an omelet, quiche, pasta, and risotto. Frittata and pizza are two other delightful ways to enjoy their taste.

Recipe and pictures: Signe Meirane
Camera: Sony Alpha 7s