Courgette Flowers Stuffed with Macadamia Nut ‘Cheese’.

These little beauties are the edible flowers of the courgette plant (or zucchini to any American friends). Also called courgette blossoms they don’t half make a pretty dish with their bright yellow hues.

We commonly think of courgette as a savoury vegetable but actually it’s a fruit! Courgette belongs to the melon family and is also a variety of summer squash. The plant has both male and female flowers, with the female ones having a courgette fruit attached as in the pic above.

Whether you grow your own at home or are able to find them in the supermarket or local farmers market, give this recipe a go while they’re still in season.

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Courgette Flowers Stuffed with Macadamia Nut 'Cheese'

Author: Sally Dixon

Ingredients

• 6 courgette flowers
• 100g macadamia nuts soaked in water for 2 hours
• 1 tbsp yeast flakes
• 1 small lemon, juiced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp pine nuts for decoration
• Coconut oil, for frying

For the batter

• 90g gram flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 150ml warm water
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. In a pan over a medium heat, lightly toast the pine nuts for around 5 mins. Keep an eye on them and stir frequently so they don't burn on one side. Set aside.
2. Prepare the nut 'cheese' by draining the macadamia nuts and adding them to a high speed blender together with the lemon juice, yeast flakes, olive oil and sea salt. Blend to a smooth, ricotta-like consistency. Add a little almond milk or water if necessary.
3. Gently wash and dry the courgette flowers then very carefully (this bit can be tricky!) open each flower and remove the stamen. Fill each flower with some of the macadamia nut cheese mixture and gently press the flower together to seal the end.
4. Bring a shallow pan of coconut oil (about 2 inches deep) up to around 180 degrees and prepare your batter as it heats up. For the batter, mix together the gram flour, baking powder and sea salt. Add in the water, stirring continuously, until you have a smooth batter consistency.
5. Once the coconut oil is ready for frying, dip the flowers one by one into the oil for 1-2 mins on each side until crispy then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on kitchen paper.
6. Keep the flowers warm until you are ready to serve. Arrange 2 flowers decoratively on a plate, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, some sea salt and an extra dollop of nut cheese on the side.

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