"But I don't have any squash blossoms to fry," you say. Well, this is also a tempura recipe, and tempura can be used on just about anything. So keep reading even if you don't have squash blossoms.
There's a delightful little man at Fulton Street's Saturday Farmer's Market who has a very, very small stall compared to the other vendors. He has tiny little baskets laid out on his display table containing "specialty produce" like serrano peppers, plump tomatillos, colored carrots, herbs and other unique veggies.
For example: towards the end of summer he sells squash blossoms. They're not just any squash blossoms; they're picked at a very precise time so that there are just a few inches of brand new squash attached to the half-open blossom. They're very pretty, so I asked him what they were for, and he told me to stuff them with cream cheese and fry them in a tempura batter.
Weird? Yes. Naturally, I had to try it. The tempura batter recipe I found was awesome - so crunchy and light. Almost anything can be fried in tempura batter, so you could try this with green beans, mushrooms, shrimp, chicken, onions, summer squash, asparagus - the sky's the limit. I highly recommend mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese fried alongside thick sliced summer squash. OMG, stuffed mushrooms...mmm. Also, it's really easy.
Tempura batter:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp softened butter
1/2 tsp white sugar
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup ice water
Mix dry ingredients, then fork in wet.
To make fried squash blossoms, have some room temperature cream cheese on hand. Carefully lift up petals until you can see inside the cavity, then spoon in cream cheese until the blossom is nice and plump.
For stuffed mushrooms, you'll want to hollow out the mushrooms with a paring knife. Use fresh whole button or mini bella mushrooms - the kind with nice, big bulbs. Remove the stems and carve some of the inside out to make room, then stuff with cream cheese and plug up the hole with a thin slice of the stem.
To fry:
Heat cooking oil (coconut oil is the best in flavor and nutrition, although it's quite pricy) on medium high until sizzling (test by sprinkling water drops in the oil; if it sizzles immediately, it's ready). You'll want to make sure there is enough oil in the pan to cover the contents. Evenly coat blossoms, mushrooms, veggies or whatever in the tempura batter then drop in hot oil. Cook about 2 minutes on each site on high, or until golden and crispy. ***NOTE: when turning tempura veggies, make sure to lift them from the pan using a thin spatula first - otherwise the batter may stick to the pan and come off.
I had some leftover squid in the freezer when I made fried squash blossoms, so I went ahead and made some fried calamari rings. So good! Don't cook them too long...
The squash blossoms were absolutely delicious. Very nutty, sweet and tender. I liked the blossom part best and Reagan liked the squash part best, which worked out well.
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