Ahhhh, Squash Blossoms

A thousand years ago my sister came back from a trip to Italy and told me about stuffed squash blossoms... stuffed with cheese and then deep fried.  The whole deep-fried thing kept me away (not the cheese, of course), but those little stuffed beauties were never far from my thoughts.  It's like that bad boy you know you should stay away from, but can't stop thinking about.

Every summer, there they are at the farmers' market, staring at me, begging me to take them home.  Until this weekend, I resisted.  But I finally figured that deep frying couldn't be the only way to prepare squash blossoms.  So yesterday I went over to the  Star Route Farms booth and talked to Annabel.  She was familiar with people baking them, so she gave me a half dozen to try.

Pick large blossoms with petals in tact and cook them the same day you buy them, if possible.  I knew I couldn't get to them until today, so I laid them on a paper towel-lined plate in the fridge ovenight.  They wilt a bit, but they're still OK.

It takes a little delicate work to peel back the leaves, especially if you're working with them day two, but if I can do it, so can you.  You need to open up the blossom, so you can pull out the pistil in the center.  Then fill and bake.
I made a filling of goat cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, a little milk (to loosen up the cheese) and some brown rice.  Then I stuffed those cuties...

Don't stuff them all the way to the top; leave enough of the petals to wrap around the filling, twisting the tops when done to contain the filling.  Lay them in an oiled baking dish and turn to coat entire blossom with oil.

Bake for about 20 minutes until petals are lightly browned and beginning to crisp...you should be able to smell the light,tangy aroma of squash.  They make an easy, but beatiful and tasty appetizer... unless you eat all six, and then I called it "dinner."

Man-oh-man, why did I stay away so long???  I'm defintely going to see Annabel at Thursday's market and get some more.  Going to try making a squash blossom risotto or maybe a pasta sauce.

STUFFED SQUASH BLOSSOMS
Makes 6

2 ounces goat cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon milk
1/4 cup brown basmati rice
6 zucchini squash blossoms

Preheat oven to 300.
In a small bowl combine cheese, dill, lemon juice, zest and salt.  Stir to combine and add milk to moisten. 
Add rice, stirring to combine. Stuff each blossom with filling.  Grease a baking dish with olive oil and turn blossoms in oil to coat all sides. Bake 20 minutes until blossoms are lightly crisp.