Don’t let those male flowers shrivel up before you have a chance to convert them into a gourmet treat!
The farmers market had beautiful, huge squash blossoms for sale but they were $4 each – so I passed. That same day I took a walk to my community garden bed and saw that my pumpkins had taken off and there were tons of male blossoms open. I already had several baby pumpkin fruits started on the female blossoms (thank you bees) and it was a no-brainer to pick them and make stuffed pumpkin blossoms.
5 Tips for Success:
- After the female flowers develop small fruits, pick the male blossoms in the morning while still open. Male flowers have one stubby stamen. Bees help pollinate the female flowers by bringing pollen from the male flowers to the female stigma. You can also pollinate by hand!
- Wash gently inside and out under cool water. Soaking in a big bowl of water may damage the delicate blossoms if kept wet for too long. Use that method with caution.
- Remove the stems and stamen before stuffing.
- Use same day for best results.
- Store in rolled up lint-free cloth in frig.
Filling for 8 Blossoms:
1/2 cup cheese crumbled or finely chopped (feta, jalapeno jack or blue cheese works wonderfully)
3/4 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 tsp red pepper flakes to taste
1 tbsp minced fresh or dried onion
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Experiment with filling options! Try different herb combinations, cubed pancetta (Italian bacon), whole basil leaves, caramelized onion – the possibilities seem endless!
What would you use for filling? It would be great to get your ideas in the comments.
“RECIPIC”
Click on the image to eventually enlarge and print out if helpful to see the recipe for stuffed pumpkin blossoms on one page.
