Today’s Experiment: Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

This morning, Adam and I journeyed to the Little Italy farmer’s market. Adam was determined to get some clams to steam for lunch, which stank up my kitchen in a way that no vegetarian like myself appreciates! While I had a few things I wanted to pick up, I happened to spot a veggie that made me excited… zucchini blossoms!

A few months ago, I saw zucchini blossoms at the farmer’s market for the first time and nabbed some. After having them at home for a few days, I came up with an idea of what to do with them… and looked in my fridge to find the blossoms brown and no longer fresh. Determined to pick them up again at the farmer’s market the next weekend, I kept my eyes peeled for more zucchini blossoms but couldn’t find any. Today was the first time since then that I’ve seen the veggie, and I wanted to try making them for the first time ASAP. In fact, this dish wound up being my lunch just a few hours after we got home:

I decided to bake the zucchini blossoms instead of the more common method of frying them. A light yet creamy dish, I stuffed the blossoms with an easy cheese & lemon mixture and brushed them with olive oil. This recipe would be great over pasta, but today I enjoyed it plain with a slice of seedy fresh bread on the side.

Lemony Goat Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms 

Ingredients:

• 6 zucchini blossoms
• 1 oz creamy goat cheese
• 1 TSP lemon juice + about 1 TSP grated lemon peel
• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 TBSP light cream cheese
• 1 TBSP whole wheat breadcrumbs
• salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Wash blossoms, then cut off stems.

Place the goat cheese in a bowl in several chunks. Add the lemon juice, lemon peel, 1/2 TBSP of the breadcrumbs, and the cream cheese, and mix together well. Add a few shakes of salt and pepper to the mix.

Using a butter knife or small spoon, stuff the cheese mixture into the zucchini blossoms evenly.

Pour the olive oil into a small dish, then brush some evenly onto the tops of each blossom. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 TBSP of breadcrumbs on top. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Nutrition stats: 215 calories, 16 g fat, 13 g protein, 12 g carbs