French cuisine · Vegetable Dishes

Zucchini Flower Fritters

Delicate zucchini blossoms deep-fried in an airy beer batter, crisp outside and almost molten inside.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 20 zucchini flowers
• 150 g flour
• 200 ml light beer
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 l oil for deep-frying
• 1 lemon
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Gently open the zucchini flowers, twist out the pistil inside, clean the flowers only with a damp brush and trim the stems to 2 cm.
2. Put the flour with a pinch of salt in a bowl, stir in the egg yolk and cold beer until the batter has the consistency of liquid cream, then let rest for 10 min.
3. Whisk the egg white to stiff peaks and fold it gently into the batter — this makes the coating airy instead of dense when fried.
4. Heat the oil in a deep pot to 175°C; a drop of batter must sizzle straight to the surface.
5. Dip the flowers by the stem through the batter, let drain briefly and fry in batches for 2–3 min. until pale golden and crisp, turning once.
6. Drain on paper towel, sprinkle at once with the coarse sea salt and pepper and serve hot with lemon wedges.