Taste Buds: Zucchini Flowers Stuffed with Herbed Feta

I saw these baby zucchini flowers at the Farmers Market last week and could not resist buying a bundle of them, and then going back to buy more this week. Almost every day this week I have prepared them various ways and finally got to a point where I was super happy with the recipe. By baking them instead of frying them it preserves the wonderful zucchini flavour and keeps it healthy. Served with a dribble of olive oil and a touch of salt these are a new favourite in my house.

When working with zucchini flowers make sure to get the freshest quality you can and buy them within a day or two of when you want to eat them. I found that these delicate flowers don’t do terribly well stored for a long period of time. The flowers are edible and actually quite tasty but make sure you part the flower petals gently to stuff. Also if the stamen, the center of the flower that sticks out, is not removed make sure to gently take that out. It breaks off pretty easily when wobbled from side to side.



The easiest way to get the cheese into the flower is to use a ziplock. Simply put the cheese mixture into the bag, seal the zip lock and cut a tiny corner from the bag off. You can spread the petals gently, pipe a bit of the mixture in making sure not to fill it too full (about ¾ full) and then gently press the petals together twisting slightly the top of the flower to seal.

RECIPE: ZUCCHINI FLOWERS STUFFED WITH HERBED FETA INGREDIENTS 16 zucchini flowers with mini zucchini’s attached Pam to spray the pan 4 tablespoons feta cheese 1 egg 1 clove garlic 1 scallion 2 sun dried tomatoes ¼ teaspoon fresh basil (can be sub for dried) Salt and Pepper to taste 1 tablespoon olive oil to garnish DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and Pam a baking sheet. 2. Finely mince the garlic, scallion and sun dried tomato (make sure you soak the sun dried tomatoes in HOT water for 5 minutes before mincing. 3. Mix the minced garlic, scallion, tomatoes, egg, and rosemary with the feta cheese blending well. 4. Stuff the zucchini flowers, see above. 5. Bake for twenty minutes flipping the zucchini flowers once halfway through. You want the flowers to be lightly toasted, the cheese melted and the mini zucchini to be pierced easily with a fork, cooking times can vary based on the size of the zucchini’s.

CALORIES IN THIS MEAL: 125 per person (Serves 4 people as an appetizer or side dish)