Baked Zucchini Blossoms with Ricotta and Basil Oil

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This recipe pre-dates my 5 Ingredients philosophy.

Baked Zucchini Blossoms with Ricotta and Basil Oil

From Stonesoup

This is one of those great dishes that has some serious ‘wow’ factor but is relatively simple to prepare. Really the most difficult part is actually sourcing the blossoms.

Feel free to go with full fat ricotta, they were all out when I was shopping, but cut back on the amount of oil in the filling.

Serves 6 as a starter
12 zucchini flowers
250g (1/2 lb) low fat ricotta
50g (2oz) parmesan cheese, finely grated
zest 1 lemon
large pinch freshly grated nutmeg, optional
5T extra virgin olive oil
1/2C basil oil
juice ½ lemon
extra parmesan to serve

1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Mix ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest nutmeg and 3T olive oil in a bowl and season. Transfer to a large piping bag without the nozzle attached. Gently open the petals of your flower and pipe in the filling. Twist the ends closed and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Repeat until all the flowers are filled and refrigerate.

2. When you are ready to serve, drizzle oil over the flower stems and place the baking tray in the oven. Bake for 10-15 mins or until the filling is starting to brown and the stems are becoming tender.

3. Allow to rest for a few minutes and then transfer to a serving platter lining up the flowers so the stems are parallel. Combine basil oil and lemon juice and drizzle over the flower stems. Grate over a little parmesan and serve warm.