Zucchini flower fritters with feta and basil

These zucchini flower fritters are filled with a creamy combination of fetta and fresh basil, then fried until crisp. If you have a wok burner on the side of your barbecue, use it to cook the fritters and keep all the cooking aromas outside. Serve the flowers in a paper napkin with a sprinkle of salt for a real taste sensation.

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 150 g (1 cup) plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 250 ml (1 cup) water
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 egg, separated
• 16 zucchini flowers
• 150 g marinated feta, drained
• 10 basil leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• oil for deep-frying

Resting time: 30 minutes

Instructions

Sift flour and salt together in a bowl. Whisk water, olive oil and egg yolk together, then whisk into the flour until combined. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Beat eggwhite until soft peaks form, then fold through the batter just prior to using.

Gently open each zucchini flower and remove the stamen. Wash gently if needed and dry well.

Mash fetta slightly with a fork. Chop basil leaves and add to the fetta, seasoning with pepper. Place a heaped teaspoonful of the filling into each flower and press the petals back around it firmly.

Pour a 4–5 cm layer of oil in a large saucepan or wok and heat over a medium–high heat. Dip the zucchinis flowers, one at a time, into the batter and into the hot oil. Fry until golden.

Drain on kitchen paper, season with salt and serve immediately.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.