Recipe: Deep-fried courgette flowers with broad bean, pea and mint puree and basil pesto

Deep-fried courgette flowers with broad bean, pea and mint puree and basil pesto

As ‘by-products’ go, courgette flowers must be one of our favourites and this is the time of year to enjoy them. This recipe by Lia Leendertz makes a delicious summery weekend lunch or substantial starter. We’ll be planting even more courgettes next year so we can enjoy even more of these crispy, delicate flowers.

Make the purée and the pesto ahead, and fry the courgette flowers at the last minute for a gorgeous plate full of high- summer flavours. Freshly made basil pesto is just right for a touch of something piquant and herbal among the gentler flavours. The smooth veggie purée is easy to whizz up and complements the crunchy deep-fried parcel with its delicate morsel of courgette flowers within.

Serves 4
For the purée
250g broad beans, double podded* (about 1kg unpodded weight)
250g peas, podded (frozen peas thawed in a little lukewarm water will also do fine)
250g ricotta cheese
handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper
For the basil pesto
50g toasted pine nuts
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 large bunch of basil (for leaves) extra virgin olive oil
50g finely grated parmesan
For the deep-fried courgette flowers
8 courgette flowers
sunflower or vegetable oil
125g plain flour
1⁄2 tsp salt
175ml ice cold water

1 Put all the ingredients for the purée, except the lemon juice, in a bowl and whiz to a smoothish texture with a hand blender. Add the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to a day.

2 For the basil pesto, use a pestle and mortar to crush the pine nuts and garlic together. Season to taste, add the basil leaves and grind to a paste before slowly adding olive oil until you have the consistency you want. Stir in the parmesan and set aside.

3 Prepare the courgette flowers by teasing them open and pulling out the yellow stamens or style. Aim to create a completely empty space within the petals. It doesn’t matter if the flower rips a little in the process.

4 Heat the oil in a high-sided saucepan. It should fill no more than a third of the pan to allow for bubbling up. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl and whisk in the water.

5 When the oil is ready (a cube of bread will fizz and go brown), dip the flowers into the batter and lower into the oil. Fry up to three at a time for 1–2 minutes, until golden brown on one side, then flip over and brown the other side. Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately. 

This recipe was originally published in our Journey issue (no. 37) in July 2015. You can buy the issue in our online shop here.

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From our July 2020 issue…

More recipes for summer…

Recipe | Samphire frittata with warm lemony courgette salad

A quick veggie supper after a day by the sea; marsh samphire can be foraged or bought locally in summer.

It grows on muddy, sandy flats often on estuaries or creeks. Simply pinch out or snip off the tops to leave the rest of the plant to grow. Samphire is usually served with fish but also goes beautifully with eggs.

Serves 4
FOR THE COURGETTE SALAD
150g runner beans, sliced on the diagonal
3 tbsp olive oil
Shallots, sliced
Yellow courgettes (or green if you can’t find them), halved and cut into chunky slices
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 small vine-ripened tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
2 rounded tbsp chopped oregano leaves
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon

FOR THE FRITTATA
250g new potatoes, sliced
2 tbsp sunflower oil
6 large eggs, beaten
50g samphire
Handful of tarragon, leaves finely shredded
100g soft goats’ cheese

1 To make the courgette salad, steam the runner beans for 5 mins or until tender. Refresh the beans under cold running water and put to one side.
2 Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the shallots for 5 mins until softened. Add the courgettes and garlic, and fry for 3 mins. Stir in the tomatoes, half the oregano and the lemon juice, then reduce the heat slightly and cook
for 5 mins or until the courgettes are just tender but retain a little bite, and the tomatoes have started to break down.
3 Stir in the runner beans, add the remaining olive oil, and season with salt and pepper, then warm through. Keep the salad warm while you make the frittata.
4 Put the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for 15 mins or until tender, then drain in a colander.
5 Heat the sunflower oil in an ovenproof frying pan. Add the drained potatoes, and the
beaten eggs, most of the samphire and the tarragon. Lay the remaining samphire elegantly on the top. Crumble over the goats’ cheese and season with salt and pepper (remembering the salty flavour of the samphire, so you won’t need much salt).
6 Preheat your grill. Cook the frittata for 7–10 mins on the hob over a medium heat, enough to set the bottom, then finish under the grill until just set all the way through. Add the remaining oregano leaves to the salad and serve it warm with the frittata.

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More from the June issue:

More summer recipes: