Soon your garden will be ripe with lots and lots of zucchini. My previous post featured Zucchini patties…a summer time favourite for many Greeks. There is also Kolokithakia Gemista with an Avgolemono Sauce, one of my personal faves and I had my mom make this for me last year for my arrival in Greece. There’s grilled zucchini, raw and steamed zucchini salads and even as part of a pasta.

There are other uses for the zucchini or…the zucchini plant. One of the most beautiful, sexy, delicate and perishable food items is the zucchini blossom. Need I mention that they are also delicious (okay I just did)? Vivid in my mind was sharing a plate of Zucchini Blossoms With Rice with Theodoros Vatistas just outside of Neapoli, Laconia last year. We had dropped by a hotel that carried the Vatistas wines and we parted with this pretty, mysterious and aromatic dish.

I’ve waited since August of last year to be able to recreate this dish, this memory, the aroma and the brief moment of “that tastes fantastic, I want to eat the whole plate all by myself”. You see, one has two opportunities to harvest zucchini blossoms in the year. The first one is in the Spring and the second chance comes at the end of summer, when the last of your zucchini plants (or other squash plants) have developed blossoms but you know that they won’t see fruition.

When picking zucchini blossoms, do so in the morning when they have just bloomed. The blossoms should stay open or ajar for the remainder of the day and thus, making it easier for you to stuff them. If you don’t have zucchini in your garden, you may find them at your farmer’s market. Go to the market early as you’ll want them as fresh as possible and without fear of buying blossoms that are exposed to the unforgiving sun.

Another reason to go early is to beat any chefs or restaurateurs who seek out zucchini blossoms for their seasonal menus. There is some labour involved in picking the blossoms early, taking them to market without guarantee of a sale and the possibility that they will perish if not used that day. Buying zucchini blossoms would be considered a splurge – they are not cheap. Some better grocers in the city will carry them. In my neighborhood is Colangelo Bros. (been operating in Scarborough since I can recall) and through contacting their produce manager, was I able to secure a basket of zucchini blossoms.

I was too ambitious, thinking I could use all the zucchini blossoms in various recipes and all made in the same day. My fear was that I would not be able to cook withe blossoms the next day but after contacting a couple of friends with more experience in cooking with zucchini blossoms, a sigh of relief ensued as I found I could store for a couple of days more. After you’ve picked your zucchini blossoms in the morning, it’s important to also gingerly pull out the pistil inside of the blossom. This part of the blossom is bitter and removing it early will stunt the blossom from closing up entirely on you.

All that is left is to soak your blossoms in warm water, hang them upside down to dry and either cook with them or store them in your vegetable crisper in your fridge. Insert the stem of one blossom into the opening of another (to keep them ajar). Simply place them between dampened paper towels, enclose in a bag and tuck away for a couple of days. You may stuff them with rice (as we’re doing today), simply dip them in batter and fry them or stuff them with the filling of your choice, dip them in batter and then fry them. You will often buy them with stems. These tendrils are edible and you should thrown them out (we’ll use them for another dish).

I’ll share some other ideas for cooking with zucchini blossoms soon but today, it’s all about the rice-stuffed blossoms. In essence, you’re stuffing them with a rice mixture that’s similar to Dolmades Gialantzi or a meatless stuffed pepper or tomato. Scallions or dried onions, Arborio rice, very ripe and naturally sweet tomatoes, olive oil and lots of fresh herbs. Chopped fresh parsley, dill, mint or a combo of all three (as I like) are the keys to this dish’s success.

This is an easy dish to prepare, it’s the sourcing of your ingredients that matters here: getting hold of zucchini blossoms, using quality olive oil (Greek, of course), lots of fresh herbs and ripe, sweet tomatoes. I’ve paired the dish with a slightly tart, loose dipping sauce made of plain yogurt, some leftover vegetable stock, mashed Feta, chopped fresh chives, some minced garlic and a little hot paprika for heat. Play around with the base of yogurt, mashed Feta and some vegetable stock. You’ll be pleased with the results.

Zucchini Blossoms With Rice (Κολοκυθοανθοί με ρύζι)

(appetizer for 4-6)

Approx. 30-35 zucchini blossoms

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 zucchini, ends trimmed and grated

2 ripe tomatoes, grated (skins discarded)

1 cup of Arborio rice

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of vegetable stock for baking

pre-heated 350F oven

1. Trim the bottom part (stem) and remove any small outer leaves around the blossom. Place in a bowl with warm water for 10 minutes. Rinse under tap water and set them upside-down to dry.
2. In a large skillet, add your olive oil over medium heat and add the onions, garlic, grated tomatoes and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the onion are translucent. Now add the rice, the wine and the grated zucchini, stir to incorporate and simmer for another 15 minutes. You may add some water if the liquid cooks off.
3. Add your chopped fresh herbs, stir to mix all the ingredients well and take off the heat. Add some sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
4. Line the bottom of your baking vessel (with a lid) with some slices of zucchini and pre-heat your oven (middle rack). Gently open a zucchini blossom and insert a tsp. of the rice mixture into each. Fold the petals inward to seal the filling and place in your vessel. Repeat filling the remaining zucchini blossoms, arranging in a taut in a circular fashion.
5. Add your hot vegetable stock and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil. Place an inverted plate over the contents and place the lid of your baking vessel on. Place into your pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes or until the rice has cooked. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a bit.
6. In the meantime, make the sauce by mashing some Feta cheese with some plain yogurt. Add some minced garlic and whisk in some vegetable stock (depending how thick or thin you would like your sauce). Add some chopped fresh chives (or scallion greens) and adjust will salt and pepper.
7. Plate your zucchini blossoms and spoon some of the sauce over them and sprinkle some hot (or sweet) paprika. Serve warm or room temperature.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at  https://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

© 2007-2010 Peter Minakis