Beer Battered Courgette Flowers Stuffed with Creamy Mushroom
Ingredients
3 cups mushrooms, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 block silken tofu
4 tbs nutritional yeast
4 tbs mixed soft herbs, I used basil, chives, parsley & sometime nasturtium, chopped fine
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 tbs plain flour
3 tbs tahini
Zest & juice 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
For the batter
1 cup/120g plain flour
1 cup/250ml beer (lager or ale)
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch sea salt
For the flowers
12 courgette or squash flowers
Vegetable oil for frying
Simple tomato sauce
2 cups/500ml passatta
2 cloves garlic, peeled
6 basil leaves
1/2 tsp sea salt
Pinch cracked black pepper
Serve with
Fresh Basil
Black pepper, crushed
Extra virgin olive oil
Method
Watch Tutorial VideoFirst place the squash flowers in a bowl of water, this will soften them, making them easy to open & fill.
Begin by preparing the filling. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it becomes a little caramelised, stirring every now & then to stop it from burning. Once the onion is soft, add the minced garlic and continue to cook for a couple more minutes.
Next, add the mushrooms to the pan. Cook the mushrooms until they release their moisture and begin to brown, season with salt & pepper.
While the mushrooms are cooking, place the silken tofu in a large mixing with the nutritional yeast, chopped herbs and tahini.
When the mushrooms are golden & slightly crispy add them to the tofu mixture. Using a fork or whisk, beat the mix tighter until its creamy & there are no tofu lumps. Finally, stir in the plain flour, which will help bind the filling together & firm it up when it cooks. Transfer the filling to a piping bag & place it into the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes.
Carefully open each courgette flower & trim the stigma inside. Pipe a small amount of the filling into the centre, taking care not to overfill as you want to be able to gently fold the petals over the filling, securing it inside. Be sure to cover all the filling with the petals, no filling should be exposed. Repeat until you’ve filled all the flowers.
For the batter, whisk together the plain flour, beer, baking powder, and a pinch of sea salt in a bowl until smooth.
Before cooking the flowers, get the tomato sauce cooking by simply adding all the ingredients to a small saucepan & simmering gently over a low heat.
When you’re ready to cook, dust a little extra flour over the stuffed flowers, just a little so that the batter sticks nicely.
Add the vegetable oil to a large saucepan or pan, and place over a medium heat & bring it to approximately 180 degrees C. I test if the oil is hot enough by placing a wooden spoon in the pan. If bubbles form around the spoon it is hot enough to fry.
Dip each stuffed courgette flower into the beer batter, ensuring it is fully coated. Gently lower the battered flowers into the hot oil, frying them in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Fry the flowers until they are golden and crispy, turning them after a couple of minutes to ensure they’re golden all over. Once fried, transfer the flowers to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain any excess oil.
To serve, remove the garlic cloves & basil from the tomato sauce & serve the crispy flowers simply on top of the sauce, garnished with a little olive oil, pepper & basil. It’s the ultimate combination
