Fried Stuffed pumpkin flowers

One of the many joys of having a garden is finding innovative ways to use everything that is growing. My pumpkin plant has been prolific, spreading it's tentacles like a giant octopus. One of the byproducts of the pumpkin (or any of the squash family) are the yellow flowers which may or may not bloom into the eventual pumpkin. How to use the flowers??? I had seen squash flowers fried before, so I thought I would give it a try with my own recipe using the pumpkin flowers.

First pick the flowers that have already bloomed and begun to close. Clip them leaving a small stem. This morning I was only able to harvest 8 of them. They tend to be "buggy" since insects burrow inside to reach the goodies. Shake them gently to get rid of the bugs before brining them inside the house.

Next, using small scissors, clip and remove the stamen. Then rinse under gently running water inside and out. The flowers are very delicate and easy to rip, so be careful. Lay them on a paper towel to air dry. You can choose to blot them dry, but they're easily damaged drying them that way.

While waiting for the flowers to dry, you can make the filling:

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup whole ricotta
2 strips of bacon fried and finely chopped
2 TBS finely chopped chives
1 TBS meyer lemon syrup (honey can be substituted)-Optional.
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Mix the ingredients and as always taste and 

adjust the ratio of ingredients to your liking.

Place the stuffing in a pastry bag. I always have a supply of these disposable pastry bags on hand. They're  easy to use and no washing is required. Place a clip on the end to prevent the filling from leaking and put in the fridge. All of the above steps can be done ahead of time, but the remainder of the cooking should be done just before serving.

When ready to cook and serve, fill each floret with some of the ricotta stuffing. Take care not to overfill. Twist the petals shut to seal the filling. Set aside.

Batter Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour (I used rice flower but regular white flour is fine)
ginger ale
pich salt

I made the batter in a bowl by adding the ginger ale to the flour until I had a batter with a nice consistency. Not too "goopey" and not too runny.

Oil:
grape seed oil (or any high temp oil for frying)

In a pan I heated the oil (about 1" deep") until it was 360 degrees. Use a candy thermometer. I then dredged each floret through the batter, shook off the excess, and placed in the pan. Fry  each side until golden and then place on  a paper towel to absorb the oil. Only fry a few pieces at a time because if you place too many in the pan at the same time, the oil temp will drop too much.

How to add sweetness to food

It seems a simple enough question with a simple enough answer- when food needs to be sweetened, just add sugar.???  Well, maybe that would solve the problem, but there are numerous other ways to accomplish this and, at the same time, also adding flavor complexity to the dish . Many times we need to add sweetness to a dish such as a sauce or a vinaigrette that is too acidic, or a sausage or meat that is too spicy, or simply a dish that needs a sweetness to fully develop its taste and create a more balanced flavor. One obvious method is to take advantage of the natural sugars in the ingredients such as in onions, carrots, prunes, etc... Another way is to introduce sugar through the use of other "vehicles": My secret weapon is an arsenal of flavored syrups.

I have several "go-to" syrups that I use in virtually all of my dishes. The advantage of using syrups over sugar is the added complexity of flavors that a particular syrup brings to the dish. My favorite is pomegranate syrup. Another is the meyer lemon syrup. I use the two in every vinaigrette to counter the acidity of the vinegar and to add a subtle flavored sweetness to the dressing. I like to use syrup in my braising liquid when braising meat. I use it in marinades. I use it in my smoothies. Sometimes, I hide a small dollops of syrup under the dish when plating to add some "hidden" flavor. Somtimes I use syrup as a plate garnish. The list is endless.

Pomegranate grenadine syrup, meyer lemon syrup, 

sangiovese pomegranate reduction, 

red wine orange reduction, and Lavender honey glaze

You don't have to buy syrups, you can also make your own. Whenever I have leftover wine (not that often!), I like to reduce it down to make syrup and store it in small squirt bottles. It's very simple to add flavors to your syrup. Pictured above is one of my homemade syrups: orange wine syrup which I made with a leftover orange a little past its prime. I simply put some orange slices and rind in the wine during the reduction. After some time, I strained all the solids out, and continued reducing the liquid until it reached the desired consistency.

Whenever a savory recipe calls for a sweet ingredient, I immediately think of how I can modify it with a flavored syrup to boost flavors. A great place to find unique syrups are specialty food stores. Give it a try and experiment for yourself to discover that one unique secret ingredient in your pantry!