Stuffed Courgette Flowers

Stuffed courgette flowers have always featured heavily at my events, as they're such a gorgeous taste of summer. For the filling I usually follow the same format - soft cheese such as flavoursome goats' cheese or a more mild ricotta, combined with nuts, herbs, dried fruit, allium and citrus. 

Ingredients:

4 courgette flowers

60g goats’ cheese

2 dried dates

1 lemon (zest and juice)

5 mint leaves

1 tbsp pine nuts

1 shallot

3 sunblushed tomatoes

1 tsp caraway seeds

1tbsp honey

Salt

For the batter:

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 tbsp plain flour

Sparkling water

Cooking oil (I used sunflower)

1. Finely chop the dates, toasted pine nuts, tomatoes, shallot and mint.

2. Combine in a bowl with the goats’ cheese, zest of half a lemon and caraway seeds. Mix thoroughly in to a creamy paste and season to taste.

3. Gently open up the flowers and stuff each one, folding over the petals to cover the filling, then refrigerate for 30 minutes or so to stiffen the mix.

4. In a bowl, combine the cornflour, poppy seeds, plain flour, and a pinch of salt with enough sparkling water to create the consistency of double cream.

5. Batter the flowers and deep fry until crispy and golden brown.

6. Sprinkle with sea salt, a drizzle of honey and squeeze of lemon.