Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 50 squash blossoms
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil + more for drizzling
- 1 large onion, grated
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 medium zucchini, ends trimmed and grated
- 1 medium zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced
- 2 ripe tomatoes, grated (skins discarded)
- 1 cup (250g) of Carolina rice (arborio is a good substitute)
- 2 1/4 cup (550ml) vegetable stock, divided
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley + 1 tbsp for garnish
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint + 1 tbsp for garnish
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh fennel frond (or substitute fresh dill) + 1 tbsp for garnish
- 1 tsp salt + more to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Greek yogurt for serving
Instructions
PREPARE THE SQUASH BLOSSOMS
- To prepare squash blossoms, gently open the petals and use your finger to snap off the pistil.
- We choose to leave a bit of the stems intact to the blossoms because we enjoy their texture once cooked, but you can feel free to snap these off of the blossoms if you choose.
- Finally, use a dry kitchen brush to brush off any debris that may be on the outside of the blossoms and set your blossoms to the side while you prepare the filling.
FOR THE FILLING:
- In a large skillet, add 1/4 cup of olive oil and the grated onion. Cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add in the minced garlic and grated tomatoes, continue to cook for another 5-7 minutes until the tomatoes have reduced down a bit.
- Add the rice, grated zucchini, and 1/4 cup of vegetable broth. Stir to combine and simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Add your chopped fresh herbs, stir to mix all the ingredients well and remove from heat. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
ASSEMBLING & BAKING:
- Pre-heat oven to 350F / 175C
- Line the bottom of a baking vessel (a round vessel with a lid is best) with zucchini slices. Gently open a squash blossom and insert a heaping teaspoon of the rice mixture into the cavity of the blossom. Gently fold the tips of the petals inward to seal the filling and place atop the zucchini slices in your vessel.
- Repeat filling with the remaining blossoms, arranging tautly in your baking vessel.
- Add your hot vegetable stock to the baking vessel and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the top of the blossoms. Place an inverted plate over the contents and place the lid of your baking vessel on. Place into your pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked. Remove from the heat, remove the lid from your vessel and allow to cool a bit.
- When you are ready to serve, spread some Greek yogurt on each plate, top yogurt with some zucchini slices from the baking vessel, place some squash blossoms on top of the zucchini and garnish each dish with a pinch of the reserved fresh herbs.
- Serve blossoms warm or at room temperature.
Notes
*since I do not have a baking vessel with a lid, I simply added a bit more vegetable stock to ensure my blossoms would be submerged with liquid once baking and covered my baking dish with 2 layers of heavy duty aluminum foil before placing in the oven
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
