Thread: Edible flowers?
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Old March 3, 2021   #8
Shapshftr
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Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Illinois
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Zucchini blossoms. They make an awesome Mexican Squash Blossom soup, topped with a dollop of sour cream. Can sprinkle a little crumbly cheese on top too if you like.

Squash Blossom Soup

1/4 stick butter
1 onion, sliced
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound squash blossoms (about 4 cups)
1 cup half and half or heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Grated anejo cheese (for garnish)

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Saute the onions and garlic seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook about five minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 10 to 12 minutes add the blossoms and cook 5 minutes longer.

2. Transfer soup to food processor and puree until smooth. Strain soup back into saucepan. Pour in the half and half and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and top with grated anejo cheese, a dry, crumbly Mexican cheese somewhat like parmesan, which can be used instead, for a somewhat different taste.

Squash blossoms are a treat generally unavailable to all but home gardeners and habitués of farmers markets. They’re so extraordinarily perishable that few supermarkets bother trying to keep them in stock.

Both the male and female blossoms of winter and summer squash varieties can be used interchangeably. The male blossoms appear at the end of thin stems and can be harvested without curtailing production of squash. . If using male squash blossoms, remove the stamens first. The female blossoms form at the end of the buds that grow into squash and are often harvested with the tiny, nascent squash still attached.

Squash blossoms are edible raw or they can be incorporated into a variety of recipes. But once you’ve clipped them out of your garden or brought them back from the farmers market, don’t tarry long. “Be warned,” writes Kate Heyhoe, of Kate’s Global Kitchen. “Squash blossoms live about as long as mayflies—at worst a few hours, at best a few days, and only in ideal conditions.” Heyhoe has stored them successfully for as long as two days, “but not without rinsing them, letting them air dry on the kitchen counter, then wrapping them in paper towels, carefully nesting them in a sealed plastic storage container, and refrigerating them in the crisper at a precise controlled 34 degrees.”
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