I
try to stay as seasonal as possible when choosing which food wishes to
film, so I’m pushing it a little bit here with these goat cheese stuffed
squash blossoms.
They’re
generally thought of as more of a springtime thing, but are available
into fall. In fact, if I’m remembering my past zucchini growing
experiences correctly, the hearty vines seemed to produce blossoms right
up until the first frost.
You
can substitute cream cheese for the goat if you’re one of them fromage
wusses, but the tang of the goat cheese makes it for me (at least use
mascarpone if you’re going to desecrate my recipe). I like to add a
little of another melty-type cheese just for fun, and here I went with a
Arti Gasna, a Basque sheep’s milk cheese. It was amazing.
The
batter is ultra-light and absorbs virtually no oil. You are welcome to
use club soda or a light beer for the batter, but I had neither and
think cold water works perfectly anyway.
You’ll
notice me using self-rising flour, because I had it, and it really does
work beautifully. If you need to make your own it’s: 1 1/2 cup
all-purpose flour, plus 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon
salt.
This
is one of those recipes that is best eaten standing in the kitchen at a
party. This needs to be done in small batches to be enjoyed in all its
glory. You can stuff them ahead of time, of course, and then in the
middle of the party, heat up the oil and start frying. Serve a few
guests at a time as they wander in and out of the kitchen, and see what
happens. Spoiler alert: people love them and think you’re awesome.
Enjoy!