Stuffed courgette flowers with goat’s cheese & thyme
A perfect summer starter or tapas dish from the group head chef of Brindisa
Recipe Meta
Prep
20 mins
+ chilling
Cook
4 mins
per flower
Serves
4
Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients
- 70g cornflour
- 30g flour
- 80ml sparkling water, ice cold
- 4 courgette flowers with flowers intact
- 50g Monte Enebro goat’s cheese
- 30g soft cream cheese
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- Thyme sprigs, to garnish
- Orange blossom honey, to garnish
Method
To make the batter, sift the flour and cornflour into a bowl, then add the ice-cold sparkling water. Whisk by hand, but just enough to combine, leaving the mixture slightly lumpy. The lumps are key: they’ll burst in the hot oil, creating that signature airy crunch. Chill the batter in the fridge until you’re ready to fry.
In a bowl, combine the Monte Enebro, cream cheese, fresh thyme leaves and a pinch of sea salt. Gently open each courgette flower and spoon in the filling with a damp spoon, taking care not to tear the petals. Twist the tops to seal, then pop them in the fridge to set.
In a large heavy pan or deep fryer, pour enough neutral oil to accommodate the courgette flowers, then slowly heat to 170°C. Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to cook the flowers in batches – it’s important not to overcrowd them.
Dip each chilled, stuffed flower into the bowl of batter, letting the excess drip off, then lower into the oil. Fry for 3-4 mins, until delicately crisp and just translucent, without taking on colour. Stir the oil gently as they cook to keep things even.
Drain the flowers briefly on paper towel. Plate while warm, drizzle generously with orange blossom honey, and scatter with thyme sprigs. Serve immediately – crisp, creamy and full of contrast.
