A little something to impress the eyes and the palate of your friends and family.
A main course might be the bulk of a meal, but the starter is the best place to really impress your guests with your culinary skills. This recipe featuring courgette flowers is wonderfully simple and sure to start your meal off an elegant footing. As Melanie Johnson says, ‘these delicate edible blossoms add a subtle flavour to dishes’, none more so than this smoked-salmon and ricotta-stuff tempura delight.
Interested? Of course you are. Let’s get started.
Recipe: Smoked-salmon and ricotta-stuffed tempura courgette flowers
Ingredients
Serves 4 as a starter
- 12 baby courgettes, with flowers attached
- 200g ricotta
- 100g smoked salmon, finely choppe
- 1tbspn fresh dill
- 1tbspn chives
- 1tspn lemon zest
For the tempura
- 100g plain flour
- 50g cornflour
- ½tspn baking powder
- 200ml sparkling water
- A pinch of salt
- Olive oil for frying
For the lemon sauce
- 100g Greek yoghurt
- ½ lemon, juice and zest of
- 1 small clove garlic, grated
- Caper berries and lemon wedges to serve
Method
Carefully wash the courgettes and gently clean the flowers, being careful not to break them. Remove the stamen from the male flowers and discard (they taste bitter). Pat dry with kitchen paper.
Mix together the ricotta, smoked salmon, herbs, lemon zest and seasoning and spoon it into the courgette flowers. Twist the ends to enclose the filling and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, cornflour, baking powder, sparkling water and salt until smooth.
Heat 1cm (½in) of oil in a wok — or use an airfryer — and, once sizzling, dip the courgette flowers into the batter and add them to the heated oil, cooking them until lightly browned, turning to ensure they’re coloured all over. You’ll need to cook them in batches, so remove to a kitchen paper-lined tray in between.
Make the lemon sauce by whisking the Greek yoghurt, lemon juice and garlic together. Chill until ready to serve.
Arrange the courgettes on a serving plate with the lemon wedges, scatter over caper berries and drizzle over the lemon sauce.
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