Courgette Flowers

The male courgette flower

Courgette flowers are botanically very straight forward. You have female flowers, and male flowers, and the difference between them is easy to spot. Male flowers grow directly onto a thin stem, whilst female flowers grow from what is actually the swelling ovary of the plant (the courgette itself) and, technically, courgettes are a fruit, not a vegetable.

Once you understand them to be edible, it's obvious that cooks are going to want to stuff this plant, they almost demand this sort of treatment. And I think, for many, this feeling the need to make some sort of complicated stuffing stops people from using the plant as much as we should.

Stuffed Courgette Flowers

I've never thought life was quiet enough to find the time to make stuffing for courgettes, but I do recommend just placing a lump of cheese inside them, mozzarella or cream cheese (we use Cork's own buffalo mozzarella Toonsbridge), dipping them in egg and then polenta and shallow frying until the polenta crisps and the cheese melts.

It's also quite a cheffy thing to do to deep fry courgettes, and this time I think it's worth the bit of trouble. Make a batter with 130g plain white flour, 4 tablespoons cornflour, salt and pepper and 200ml sparkling water. Dip the flowers into this, having first removed the pistils from the female flowers and the stamens from the male. Then deep fry in very hot oil. Serve there and then with a little Kikkoman's soy sauce to dip.

Courgette Tempura

Courgette Flower Quesadilla

Travellers to continental markets will be used to seeing both male and female courgette flowers piled high and sold at a premium, for the rest of the world well appreciates this delicious fruit. Whether they know them as the French word, courgette, or the American summer squash blossoms, or the Italian, zucchini, this fruit travels the world. African cooking often pairs courgette flowers with potatoes, and they are a feature of Mexican cooking as well, where they are often added to soup. The flowers are also colourful and unusual in quesadillas. Just take a flour tortilla, top with loads of grated cheese (lovely with smoked Gubbeen) and sprinkle over the flowers. Add some pickled chilli and some white onion. Top with another tortilla and fry in a generous amount of oil.

Summer Veg ragout

Courgette flowers are lovely just strewn on top of a dish. In the summer we make a vegetable ragout with market bought or home grown produce. Use whatever is in season, lettuce leaves, beans, peas, broccoli, courgette, baby onions, new garlic, cooked artichoke hearts. Start by sauteing the onion, and then add a little water, and lightly braise the vegetables, putting in the ones that cook longer in the beginning, and the quick cooking veg at the end. Finally throw over some torn up courgette flowers and a good dash of olive oil or Irish rapeseed oil.

Courgette and Courgette Flower Risotto

Courgette and Courgette Flower Risotto


1 onion, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of saffron
300g risotto rice
1.25L chick or vegetable stock
3 medium courgettes, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
4-5 courgette flowers (male or female), torn up
handful of fresh mint and fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon creme fraiche

In a saucepan, fry the onion in the olive oil until soft. Add a few sprigs of saffron. Stir the risotto rice into this onion mixture and stir until the rice is coated. Heat the stock, and begin adding it to the rice a ladleful at a time. Wait until each ladleful has been absorbed before adding the next.

In a separate frying pan, sauté the courgettes and garlic until the courgette is soft and sticky. When all the stock is absorbed, and the risotto is cooked, stir the courgettes and the courgette flowers into the rice. Stir to combine and allow the flowers to wilt. At this point add the creme fraiche. Finally add the herbs, and serve.