Ipek Gorgun’s Zucchini Blossom Stuffing

Ingredients:

20 zucchini blossoms
1 glass full of white rice
2 onions
Few branches of coriander
Few branches of allspice
2 teaspoons of pepper
1 teaspoon of dried chili pepper 1 teaspoon of peppermint
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 lemon
2 glasses of water
One tomato, shredded

For the zucchini blossoms:

Gently remove the receptacles and sepals of the blossoms (the green, external leaves and the main branch), and then remove the pistils (the female, internal and yellow part of the blossom). You can also use a teaspoon to extract the pistils, too

Rinse the blossoms and leave them to dry

Stuffing and cooking:

Wash and drain the white rice and add it all to caramelised onions (make sure you have caramelised them with olive oil)
Add the spices, sugar and and 1,5 glass of water
Cover the pan and wait until the rice gets dry
Shred the coriander and allspice, add them to the rice
Use half of the lemon and turn it into juice, spill it over the rice and leave the whole thing to cool
After the stuffing is cooled, take a teaspoon and fill each blossom half way. Don’t push it too far, remember that the petals are very delicate and torn easily
Fold the blossom by joining its opposing ends
Place each blossom vertically on the cooking pot, set your timer for 20 minutes
Add some olive oil and the other glass of water for cooking
Use the other half of the lemon to make new juice and add it to the pot while cookingIn case you would like to fry them
Add some cheese to the stuffing, preferably curd, mozzarella or goat cheese
Make some sauce by mixing a cup of milk, an egg, 3 tablespoons of flour and a pinch of salt
Dip each stuffed blossom into this sauce and start frying them. Make sure you have fried both sides

Take a paper towel and let the blossoms rest for a while