Easy Herbed Chevre Stuffed Squash Blossoms
Everybody has heard the old saying, that during the summer, people’s squash plants grow so rapidly and abundantly, that they have to put them on their neighbor’s porches in the middle of the night just to get rid of them! Well, there is another way – which is far tastier. Just take the flowers, and make stuffed squash blossoms!
Well, we have been having the opposite problem in our garden this year – an abundance of beautiful blossoms, but only a few fruits just beginning. We weren’t sure – was the soil missing nutrients? Or maybe the soil temperature just wasn’t hot enough? Last year we got our squashes in too late and they were killed off by an early frost. This year we started them indoors and they turned out beautiful, but we were beginning to worry that we were going to have another dud crop this year – which would be so disappointing as we planted a TON for winter storage.
So I started doing some research into the matter. There are male and female squash blossoms and in the beginning of the season, the vine produces primarily male blossoms. The females are the fruit producing blossoms, and the males, do not produce fruit. I learned that it is the pollen from the male blossom that is needed for the female blossom to turn into fruit. This of course is done by bees and other insects, which is why the bee issue is so important to gardeners (and should be to anyone that eats). Luckily, both male and female blossoms grow on the same vine, and so if there are enough bees buzzing around, there shouldn’t be any pollination problems.
How can you tell a female blossom from a male? Female blossoms have a bump or immature mini fruit between the blossom and the stem, and the males lack the bump.
So if you have too many fruits, you can use some female blossoms to make the stuffed blossoms. If you don’t want to lose any fruits, be sure to use the male blossoms, since those will not produce fruit anyway.
This is perfect for a quick and easy summer treat. Very little prep time/work and ingredients you probably have on hand.
Herbed Chevre Stuffed Squash Blossoms
INGREDIENTS:
6 squash blossoms (any kind of squash will do!)
¼ cup chevre
1 TBS of fresh herbs minced – I used a mixture of thyme, basil and chives
1 egg – beaten
Olive oil
Sea salt
METHOD:
Place about an inch of olive oil in the bottom of a skillet (I use cast iron) and heat it up slowly on low heat. Wash the blossoms and gently pat the dry, remove the blossom stamens any seeds or unwanted hitchhikers. In a small bowl mix the chevre and herbs together. Using your fingers, get a small amount of the chevre mixture and place in the blossoms (some people like piping the mixture out of a pastry bag, but fingers work just as well). Then dip the stuffed blossom in the egg and place in the hot oil. Fry on each side for about a minute, or until brown. Remove from oil and place on a cooling rack with a paper towel to drain and sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately.
Elle - July 14, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Wow, I never knew all of that! We got our first summer squash a few days ago, which is very exciting-because we didn’t get any the first time we planted them. What a bummer!
The blossoms prepared this way look lovely, and perfect for a light summer meal!
Rosa - July 14, 2011 at 3:40 pm
That is something I’d love to try!
Hahaha, that first paragraph made me laugh! So true…
Cheers,
Rosa
christo - July 14, 2011 at 7:13 pm
my absolute favorite of ALL TIME and you make me crave them now – all the blossoms I am getting so far are too small to stuff ..
vanillasugarblog - July 14, 2011 at 7:31 pm
jenn i still have not had these. how sad is that? that means i have to come see you and eat them. did you get this cooler weather? the cold front that moved through last night? man so refreshing.
wonderful post ms jenn.
Adena - July 14, 2011 at 8:11 pm
AWESOME AWESOME info about the male/female blossoms – I have been having the same problem!!!!! Thank you!
bellini - July 14, 2011 at 8:44 pm
It was only a half hour ago that I was reminscing about stuffed squash blossoms. I had read somewhere that bees were the problem this year, no bees no pollination, no squash. The Spring has been too cold…sigh.
Arlene (MOM) - July 15, 2011 at 10:18 am
Interesting. I learned something. Boy, I would like to be eating some of those. They look GOOD!
Laurie - July 15, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Oh Jenn.. when my reader displayed these images my mouth literally started to water. YUMM!! I love herbed chevre too. Great recipe!
patsy - July 16, 2011 at 2:16 pm
I so wish I could find some squash blossoms! Everyone keeps making these fabulous stuffed or fried versions and my mouth is watering like crazy!
Peter G @ Souvlaki For The Soul - July 17, 2011 at 12:48 am
Now this looks glorious Jenn. Perfect summer eating. Stuffed squash blossoms are so addictive! Good luck with the rest of your crop.
Jan - July 17, 2011 at 2:43 am
Jenn that looks amazing!
Miz Helen - July 17, 2011 at 7:53 pm
I am at the point of leaving the squash on door steps, as the heat has not been a problem here, only to high. This is a great recipe that I will try this week. I am heading to the Squash Patch. Thanks for sharing and have a great week!
Miz Helen
Erica - July 19, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Oh man I can’t wait to make that. Looks delicious!:)
lili - July 21, 2011 at 12:13 am
Just made this and love how easy it was. One of my best this summer!
Jenny - July 29, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Oooh! I have a big batch of squash blossoms and this looks perfect for them!
kat - August 2, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Oh I want those! Usually I can get the blossoms at the farmers market but haven’t seen any yet this year, everything is so behind