Stuffed Squash Blossoms

It seems like a very "foodie" thing to make, but as we have the larger garden this year and one of the things we have planted was squash, we are in the middle of having quite a few squash blossoms right now. I have only had them once in a restaurant, some place in Richmond a few years back and they were excellent, so I decided to give it a try. With a little research, it turns out they come in male and female versions, with the female having the squash attached at the end. I ended up just picking off some of the male ones because at the end of the day I want the squash to grow to full size.

The next step was to stuff them. I didn't have much in the fridge, so I threw together some chopped bratwurst, cream cheese, colby-jack cheese, onion and garlic salt, and a little pepper. This was similar to what I had stuffed jalapenos with earlier in the season, except substituting the bratwurst for bacon because that was the fatty meat that was sitting there.

The batter I made for these was a very simple part flour, part corn meal, and milk. I let it chill briefly, and then dipped the blossoms in, covering them and right into the oil. As you see from the finished pictures, I also had a couple of hungarian peppers that one of the kids picked off before their time from the pepper plant, so I stuffed them with the same mix and coated them with the same batter and cooked away.

Results: They were good, but not great. The bratwurst overpowered the blossoms, but held up to the peppers. A little to much salt in the mix, and the batter was too heavy. I think next time do it with no batter in just olive oil, or try a nice tempura batter to lighten it up some. In the end, The family demolished them and I'll be better prepared if doing it again.