Now I’ve been playing with these cute little yellow flowers all summer and I finally found something I felt worth posting (though simple and unassuming it might be.)

But then I put it in my back pocket since I had assumed that going into September that it was probably too late for such summery things.

But then in a brief foray to a farmer’s market on my lunch break Wednesday, I spied with my little eye squash blossoms still sitting on a table. And so I feel it it is still appropriate as chilly as these mornings and nights might be to share this with you. If anything it may now seem comforting to stand over a hot pan of oil frying these off.

It took me a bit to figure out the proper breading technique for this delicate lacy little things. My first breading, my go-to, was too heavy for them. I tried just egg wash, just parm, just almond flour. But the key here is the tapioca starch, you could even leave out the parm if you wanted, it's for flavor more than anything. The tapioca starch here gets them nice and crispy but still keeps them light as air.

Traditional recipes also stuffed them full of other things. I will experiment with that next summer, I think. But for now I leave you with the most down to earth version, a fresh tasting bud with the nicest crunch and a sprinkling salt. Practically addicting. Especially dipped in a bit of fresh sauce.

Mangia, mangia!

Fried Squash Blossoms

Ingredients:

14-16 squash blossoms

¼ cup tapioca starch

palmful of grated parmesan ( if desired)

2 eggs

¼ cup of olive oil for frying

salt

Directions:

Mix the tapioca starch and the parmesan together on a medium sized plate.

Beat your eggs in a small to medium sized bowl. Put all your squash blossoms in that same bowl and gently toss them to cover them all in egg.

Heat the oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat.

While the oil is heating up, take a few of the egg coated blossoms and one by one dip them in the tapioca-parm mix to cover completely. Gently shake off the excess and set aside for frying.

Once the oil is hot enough (you can place the end of a wooden spoon in the oil to see if it sizzles) place a few blossoms in the pan. Don’t over crowd. Fry on each side until golden brown.

Lay to drain on a paper towel covered plate. While still hot from the pan sprinkle with a touch of salt.

Continue with the rest of blossoms.

I served these with Fresh Sauce for dipping, but they’re great just plain as well.