stuffed zucchini blossoms

Aren't they pretty? 

Zucchini blossoms are perfectly in season right now. They're delicate flowers that are mild in flavor and great for stuffin', particularly with a mix of ricotta, lemon zest, chopped mint and black pepper. Pretty standard, easy recipe. And they look so darn pretty! I made a quick tomato dipping sauce with canned fire roasted whole tomatoes, added some dried italian spices (hot pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, basil etc..) and reduced the liquid by half until it was nice and saucy. 

Ingredients:  

filling

• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped mint
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

zucchini blossoms

• Vegetable oil (for frying)
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounce chilled beer, or club soda
• Zucchini blossoms (about 2 dozen)
• sea salt

To stuff: 

• To fill about 16, combine ricotta, mint, and lemon zest in a bowl. Season with salt and black pepper. Using a spoon, fill each blossom with about 1 Tbsp. ricotta mixture.
  
  
  To fry: 

• In a large sauce pan, heat about 2 inches of oil over medium heat. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl, then whisk in beer until almost smooth (some small lumps are ok—don't overwhisk or you'll deflate the batter). One by one, dredge the blossoms in batter, shaking off the excess. Gently lay in the oil, without crowding the pan. Cook, flipping once with a slotted spoon, until golden brown, 2-3 minutes total. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with sea salt. Serve with tomato dipping sauce.