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    Home » Salad Tips & Tools » How to Guides

    Zucchini Flowers, Squash Flowers & Pumpkin Flowers

    Filed Under: How to Guides

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    Zucchini flowers are bright and cheery and only available a few months of the year. You can enjoy them raw, stuffed or fried and preparing them is a breeze if you follow our step-by-step guide.


    zucchini flowers close up

    The first thing this morning our wonderful Portuguese neighbour Maria came knocking on our door with a basketful of these golden beauties in her arms - what a treat!

    So we donned our aprons, got the chopping boards and parring knives out and got stuck into prepping them so that they could stay fresh and we could enjoy them throughout the week.

    Whether they be zucchini, squash, courgette or pumpkin flowers they are all prepared the same way, they are after all members of the curcubit or gourd family.

    How to choose zucchini flowers

    If you are not lucky enough to have a generous Maria in your midst or if you don't grow them in your own garden you are most likely to find these pretty blossoms at a farmers market or at your greengrocer during the summer months.

    Your sunny blossoms should be brightly coloured with no shrivelling or wilting.

    HOW TO PREPARE them step-by-step

    1Use kitchen scissor to cut off the stem, then gently remove any spiny leaves around the blossom as they can sting. 

    • cutting off the stem from a zucchini flower
      CUT OFF THE STEM
    • REMOVing THE SPINY LEAVES from a zucchini flower
      REMOVE THE SPINY LEAVES

    2Gently open up the blossom and cut off the stamen/pistil with your kitchen scissors or you can gently reach into the flower to remove the pistil and stamen. The flower is very delicate, so take care not to break it. 

    • cutting off the stem from a zucchini flower
      CUT OFF THE STEM
    • REMOVing THE SPINY LEAVES from a zucchini flower
      REMOVE THE SPINY LEAVES
    • using scissors to cut off pumpkin flower stamen
      WITH YOUR SCISSORS
    • cut pumpkin flower stamen
      CUT OFF THE STAMEN

    How to store your zucchini flowers

    As these delicate blossoms tend to close up soon after picking we keep them, one inside the other and stack them.
    We then wrap them in paper towels so that they stay fresher for longer and store them in a plastic bag in the fridge.
    It is very difficult to stuff them once the flowers have closed up.

    • placing pumpkin flowers inside each other to store
      PLACE ONE INSIDE THE OTHER
    • stacking up pumpkin flowers to store
      STACK THEM UP

    Ok, now they are prepped what do I do with them?

    There is a multitude of ways that you can enjoy these delicate blossoms, you can :

    • Roll them in pancake batter and fry them just like you would your pancakes then serve them with fresh berries, maple syrup, whipped ricotta or fresh cream as a sweet treat.
    • Stuff them with rice or ricotta and goats cheese as a great starter or light lunch.
    • Snack on them raw, they are low cal and delicious!

    or try them in one of our mouth-watering salads...

    • ZUCCHINI SALAD
      ZUCCHINI SALAD WITH GREEN MANGO
    • ARUGULA SALAD WITH SQUASH FLOWERS
      ARUGULA SALAD WITH SQUASH FLOWERS
    • MIDDLE-EASTERN-SALAD-FEATURED-2
      MIDDLE EASTERN SALAD

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    « The Ultimate Mediterranean Couscous Salad - Great for Lunches
    Zucchini Salad with Green Mango & Coconut »

    About Anastasia

    Anastasia is a home cook introduced to cooking at a young age (8 years old) and hasn’t gotten out of the kitchen since! She had her own coffee shop and ran her own catering business for over a decade. Her love of salads developed as she was always the one responsible for making the salads for family get-togethers and friends functions.

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    Let me show you how to transform your salads from boring and limp to bright, fresh and exciting using in season fresh produce.

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