Fried Zucchini Flowers and Sage for a tasty nibble

It is quite common to have some little fried treats in Italian restaurants whilst waiting for your meal.

One of the most popular is the widely known fried courgette’s flowers. They can be enjoyed just deep fried on their own or with a filling, like mozzarella and anchovies which is quite popular in Rome.

My grandma used to sprinkle some sugar over them and turned them into sweet treats. Courgettes flowers can be male or female. There are always many more male flowers (which function is to pollinate the female ones) and fewer female ones.

It is easy to distinguish the female ones as they have a miniature courgette fruit at the base of the flower whereas the male ones don’t.

 

So, once the female ones have appeared, you can pick all the male flowers. I have fried some sage leafs too. They are also very popular as an appetizer. Get the largest leaves you can find, dip them into the batter and just fry.
I have used cold beer to make up the batter but you can use just cold sparkling water if you prefer.

• Prep Time : 25 minutes
• Cook Time : 15 minutes

Ingredients

• zucchini (courgettes) flowers – 10
• sage leaves – a handful
• flour – 3 tbsp
• egg – 1
• salt – a pinch
• cold beer – 200 ml (more might be needed)
• oil for frying

Instructions

Wash the flowers in gentle running water to avoid damaging them. Wash the sage leafs too.
Open gently the flowers and remove the stamens of the male flowers which have a strong taste.

 

In a bowl add the egg, the beer, flour and salt. Beat the mixture up well. Add some more beer if needed. The mixture should be partly running and partly thick.

Dip the flowers and the sage into the mixture and coat them gently with it.

Heat plenty of oil in a large pan and when hot, fry the flowers and the sage until golden.

Enjoy with cold white wine or a glass of beer.

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