Zucchini Blossoms à la Provençale

The secret to having the best summer experience in Provence or the Luberon is to wake up early. Not only do you treat yourself to one of the best sunrises in Europe, you also get to sip your hot coffee and tear apart your warm croissant while it is still almost chilly outside.

We sneak out in the semi-darkness to catch the sunrise over the village of Saint Saturnin next to the moulin (windmill) at the top of the hill. It is the first time I feel cold in weeks. Before the sun fully peaks out from behind the hills, its soft rays are creeping over the valley, turning the Luberon from a dark coal to a deep purple colour, reminding me of the pyramidal cuberdon sweets that the Belgians are so fond of.

We stand there waiting. Waiting for the sky to turn a grapefruit orange when the sun finally crawls out and suddenly we are basked in a mild glow, warm and cold at the same time. As Nico snaps away to capture the light, all I can think about is the boulangerie.

We head down the steps to the village and I can smell it from ten houses away. The smell of toasted wheat and caramelised raisins. The scent of layers and layers of butter melted into a crispy fold and of cinnamon apples and hot milk. The smell that highlights my mornings in France – the bakery. We grab an épi, a viennoise, some croissants, a chausson aux pommes and the daily baguettes. I finish off my extra pain aux raisins before we even get back to the house, my fingers sticky and my heart happy.

If the early morning coincides with a market day, then you are three times lucky, not only do you get fresh-baked goods and a sunrise, you also get a quiet market. Be there by 9am while some of the stands are still being set up to avoid a thousand people tagging along behind you or an excruciatingly slow bunch walking before you. There are countless markets in the region, one for every day of the week and often you will see the same vendors making the rounds from town to town, so take your pick. 

There is always a pungent olive stand with green, black and burgundy fruits marinated in garlic, herbs and spices. Then there are mountains of heirloom tomatoes, bright-red, lime-green, pale-pink and vivid-yellow varieties next to bushy fennel and dark cranberry beans. The fruit stands have black figs, fuzzy coral doughnut peaches and voluptuous raspberries. One stand in Lourmarin even has a wall of hanging sweet purple garlic, enough to keep an army of vampires away.

On a particular morning in Apt, I find a basket of delicate zucchini blossoms. There is not a scratch on them. Not a wilted corner or a slightly limpy stalk, they are…perfect. So perfect that they are sold by the piece, but I cannot resist. Zucchini blossoms for me, are summer personified. They remind me of my Italian nonna (grandmother) who would fry them up in a crispy batter and serve them plain, with rabbit stew or chicken cacciatora. My nonna is the queen of the shallow fry and somehow her kitchen always carries a slight whiff of the comforting golden crisp that hot oil gives anything you throw into it.

I had never actually handled zucchini blossoms before and I knew that this would be my chance to make my nonna proud. So I selected every zucchini blossoms with precise care, choosing the prettiest ones and making sure with maniacal obsession that nothing else in the basket could crush them until they were delivered to our kitchen safe and sound.

We grabbed whatever we had in the house for the stuffing and whipped up a simple tomato coulis to serve them on. Do I need to tell you they were a hit? I am still craving them now. And of course the first thing I did after lunch was to call my nonna and tell her about my little experiment, someone who could fully appreciate and share my overenthusiastic delight at having found 8 perfect little zucchini blossoms at 9 in the morning and not a minute later.

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ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS A LA PROVENCALE \ˌzukini blɑsəmz ə lɑ provencale\

Zucchini blossoms are quite delicate to handle, but any careful work involved with this dish is completely worth it. Nothing beats a crispy, cheese-filled light-as-air zucchini blossom in the summer. They should be served immediately while hot.

Makes 8 zucchini blossoms

For the Stuffing

125g mozzarella
1 slice of prosciutto crudo
1 tbsp small capers (drained from vinegar or rinsed well if under salt)
1 heaped tsp parmiggiano, grated
black pepper, ground

For the Batter

150ml of ice cold sparkling water
1 egg yolk
100g white flour, plus more flour for coating
4 ice cubes
pinch of salt

2 cups vegetable oil for frying

For the Tomato Coulis

1 cup of tomato passata
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
pinch of salt
bunch of basil leaves

Make the Stuffing

Finely chop all the stuffing ingredients and mix together in a bowl. 

Prepare the tomato coulis

Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a small pan and add the tomato passata. Allow the passata to bubble lightly then turn the heat down and add the sugar and salt to taste. Once the sugar dissolves, turn the heat off and stir in a handful of basil leaves. Set aside.

Clean & stuff the Zucchini Blossoms

Clean and trim the zucchini blossoms while leaving a bit of the stalk on if possible, this makes them easier to handle later on. Wash the zucchini blossoms in ice water. Split open one side of the flower without breaking it and remove the pistil with a pair of scissors. Wash again carefully and dry well on a tea towel or kitchen paper. Be careful not to crush them.

Gently spoon in the filling, about 1 1/2 tsp for each blossom and try to close the flowers as well as possible, even allowing the petals to overlap slightly. Don’t worry if they do not close completely as the batter will help hold it altogether.

Place them in the fridge while you prepare the batter.

Make the batter

Mix the sparkling water, egg yolk, salt and flour with a whisk until smooth, then add in the 4 ice cubes. The ice cubes help keep the mixture as intact as possible and create a crispier batter. Dip the stuffed blossoms in the extra flour lightly. While holding the stalk and keeping the blossom well-closed, dip the entire blossom into the batter while coating the whole surface well.

Heat up the vegetable oil on high heat until a piece of bread dropped into the oil sizzles. Turn the heat down to medium high and begin dropping in the zucchini blossoms carefully so that they do not touch each other. Once golden brown, remove from oil and drain on a kitchen paper. You can trim the stalk if it is too long. 

To Serve

Spoon a large spoonful of tomato coulis onto a plate and place one or two zucchini blossoms for each person.

Eat while hot and crispy!