Stuffed Courgette Flowers

This seasonal recipe for courgette flowers stuffed with brandade de Nimes, along with a tasty tomato dipping sauce, by Rick Stein is simply amazing - make sure you try it whilst courgette flowers are in season and being picked fresh from our fields.

Difficulty:

Prep time: (Over Night)

Cook time: 10 - 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Related Tags

Fresh From Our Fields Seasonality

Ingredients

250g salt cod, soaked for 24 hours and water changed 3 times
2 Garlic Farm garlic cloves, finely chopped
75ml Sutton Lucy double cream
75ml Honest Toil olive oil
8 Fresh from our Fields courgette flowers
Freshly ground black pepper

For the tomato dipping sauce...

4 Tomato Stall tomatoes
½ tsp piment d’Espelette or pimentón
¼ tsp salt
Pinch sugar
1 tsp Honest Toil olive oil

For the tempura batter...

115g plain flour
115g cornflour
Pinch salt
300ml chilled soda water
1 litre sunflower oil, for frying

Method

Drain the cod, place in a saucepan and add cold water just to cover. Bring to a simmer and poach for 5–10 minutes, depending on its thickness. Remove the fish and leave to cool. When cool enough to handle, flake the flesh, discarding any skin and bones.
Put the cod in a food processor with the garlic, cream and plenty of pepper. With the motor running, drizzle in the oil and process until you have a thick paste. Or, if you prefer, use a pestle and mortar. Put the brandade in the fridge to chill for an hour.
For the tomato sauce, put the tomatoes, skin and all, in a blender with the piment d’Espelette, salt, sugar and oil. Blend until fairly smooth. Pour into a small frying pan and cook for 2–3 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and leave to cool.
Stuff each courgette flower with 2 tablespoons of the brandade and close the flowers around the stuffing.
For the batter, sift the flours into a bowl with the salt and gradually whisk in the soda water. The mixture might be a bit lumpy, but that’s fine.
Heat the oil to 180C in a large, deep saucepan. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Dip the stuffed flowers into the batter and carefully lower them into the hot oil, a few at a time. Fry for 1 minute until light and crispy, then remove and drain on kitchen paper. Carefully pull out the cocktail sticks, if used, and serve immediately with the tomato dipping sauce.