Zucchini Squash Blossom Pizza with Garlic Zucchini, Tomatoes & Herbs

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014

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Zucchini blossoms!  I fucking love zucchini blossoms!  Look how gorgeous they are!  Delicate & delicately flavored – they are a lovely addition to many dishes – if only for the splash of color they add.  They do have a flavor, though, and finding a dish that uses them that is tasty but doesn’t overwhelm the blossoms can be tricky.  I have posted another pizza yesterday, my Zucchini Squash Blossom White Pizza with Goat Cheese and Ricotta and Mozzarella.

It was yummy – but I think I prefer the one I am posting here now.  Today’s pizza is colorful & flavorful & moist & easy & wonderful.  With pizzas, I seldom give quantities for the ingredients because I feel that is really up to you.  Some folks like lots of cheese – others do not. I used a lot of LARGE chunks of garlic in this.  Some might find that heavy-handed.  So – use this as a guideline & make your own decisions but – if you find zucchini blossoms – buy them & try them in something because they are a pure delight & only around for a few weeks.

Zucchini Squash Blossom Pizza with Garlic Zucchini, Tomatoes & Herbs

INGREDIENTS

Pizza dough (I use THIS & make it in my bread machine)

Zucchini blossoms (I used about 10)

1 tomato – diced

1 zucchini – sliced thin

4-5 cloves garlic – roughly chopped

Grated mozzarella (or vegan alternative)

Fresh mozzarella (or vegan alternative)

Olive oil

Salt (you gotta try the Pink Himalayan)

Herbs (I used a mix of chopped basil, mint and parsley – with the fresh MINT being extra special here)

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 450.

Remove the stems & center thingy from the blossoms.

Chop the blossoms up.

Heat some live oil in a saute pan & saute the zucchini rounds & chopped garlic over medium heat until the rounds soften.   Reserve the olive oil & garlic & drain the zucchini on a paper towel.

Roll the dough out & place it on a cooking sheet with either parchment paper or treat the pan with cooking spray.

Brush the olive oil from the zucchini onto the crust & add the garlic.  Pierce the crust in several places so it doesn’t bubble up & bake for 5-10 minutes.

Take it from the oven & top it with a layer of grated mozzarella, the zucchini rounds (add a little salt here), some diced tomato, fresh mozzarella & most of the chopped blossoms (reserve some for garnish).

Bake this pretty fucker for another 10-15 minutes or until it is cooked to your liking.  Garnish with more chopped blossoms & the chopped herbs.  Yyyyymmmmm!

Zucchini Squash Blossom White Pizza with Goat Cheese and Ricotta and Mozzarella

 

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014

Follow @celisemccarthy

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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My favorite place on Earth, Super King, carries unusual & seasonal produce & now is the season for zucchini blossoms.  I LOVE ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS!  Almost irrationally.   They have a flavor so subtle as no almost be indiscernible & easily overwhelmed.  They are most frequently served stuffed, breaded & fried but that is just so unhealthy – I can bring myself to do it anymore.

So – I made this pizza – because I had leftover, homemade dough & just felt like pizza.  Does anyone ever NOT feel like pizza?  I blended the goat cheese with an equal part ricotta in an effort to add subtle flavor but nothing so strong it overwhelmed the zucchini blossoms.  This is a very delicately flavored & mild pizza.  Pretty to look at & yummy to eat.

I also used the last bit I had of this shitty grated cheese.  A fresh mozzarella is infinitely more desirable.  PLEASE use some of that instead.

Zucchini Squash Blossom White Pizza with Goat Cheese and Ricotta and Mozzarella

INGREDIENTS

Pizza dough (I make THIS in my bread machine & use it over several days)

Zucchini blossoms

Goat cheese

Ricotta cheese

FRESH mozzarella cheese

Chives and/or micro greens as garnish

S&P

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 450-475.

The amount of cheese you want it up to you but I mixed equal parts goat & ricotta & then added a bit of S&P to that.

Carefully, snip out the pistol with scissors or by pinching with your fingers.  The pistol is the nubby thing growing out of the center of the flowers.  Pinch off the stems.  Don’t worry if they tear.

Now – just assemble your pizza.  I have really come to love parchment paper.  Nothing really sticks to it & it is nice to photograph, as well.  Anyway – get your pizza pan out & spray it with cooking spray or line it with parchment.

Roll the dough out & put it on the cooking sheet.  Then – assemble.  I started with my bullshit grated mozzarella.  You should use fresh stuff (the sort sold in water), if you can.  I added some blossoms, randomly, & dolloped the whole thing with the ricotta/goat cheese blend.  I cooked it about 12 minutes but you cook it until it looks done to your liking.

Garnish with snipped chives or micro greens & maybe more S&P.  Mmmmmmmmmm!!!!

Squash (Zucchini) Blossom Quesadilla

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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I made a trip to the incredible Super King yesterday & now I have more cheese & produce than I know what to do with.  A HUGE shopping cart full of awesomeness for $135.  But I live alone & usually eat alone – so getting through all that before it spoils will be a challenge.  Still – it is worth noting that I bought three bunches of curly kale there for .99 cents.  They cost $2.50 a bunch at Gelson’s.  So – $1 or $7.50?  Which sounds better to you?  Or – those little plastic containers of cherry or grape tomatoes?  Between $5-$7 at Gelson’s – for ONE.  Same thing at Super King?  SEVENTY-NINE CENTS!  So – with just those purchases – I saved at least $10.  At least.  On one package of cherry tomatoes & three bunches of kale.  I saved ten dollars.  I wince to imagine what the contents of my $135 cart would cost at Gelson’s!  I bought a one-pound wedge of Ricotta Salata for about $6.50.   I got that grillable cheese – Halloumi – that I blogged about HERE – see?  YUM!

Anyway – they had several brands to chose from ranging in price from $3.50 – $9.  Gelson’s has only one kind and I think it costs $11.  So – you get my point.

Yesterday – I was bizarrely pleased to see they had squash (zucchini) blossoms for sale again at $1.49 a bunch.  Bizarrely – because I already posted a fried zucchini blossom recipe last week and, frankly, I don’t know what you can do with them beyond that.

Still – I bought two bunches.  Then I came up with a few ideas.  Quesadillas!  I have quesadillas on the brain.  And pizza!  Pizza with squash blossoms – coming soon!

So – this is a simple & beautiful quesadilla using fresh squash blossoms.  They are very delicately flavored so I opted for the mild fresh mozzarella cheese rather than the fontina I was considering.  You might want to try a different cheese.  I added tomato for color & jalapeno for color & flavor & this guy was yummy!  I hope you try it!

Squash (Zucchini) Blossom Quesadilla

INGREDIENTS

1 tortilla

6 or so squash blossoms – stem & pistils removed (the pistil is that little furry candy corn thing growing in the center)

some sliced mozzarella

some diced tomato

some diced jalapeno

DIRECTIONS

Heat a dry pan or prep a grill pan with cooking spray.  Heat it up.  Assemble your quesadilla.  Cook it on both sides until the cheese is melted & the outside looks browned.

Eat that delicate motherfucker.  Know satisfaction.

Beer-Batter Fried, Ricotta-Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

Follow @celisemccarthy

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Sorry, folks!  I haven’t posted in a week because 1) my boyfriend Miles was in town and 2) my computer hard drive COMPLETELY crashed.  I knew it was coming so everything is backed up but I had to spend a few days researching my options & then buying a computer.  I bought on at Fry’s in Burbank.  NEVER BUY AT FRY’S.  The computer I bought was defective out of the box (it wouldn’t recognize the wireless mouse or keyboard) and after 45 minutes of USELESS tech support – I hung up on the guy & decided to return the computer.  Two options at this point: a) admit it is a defective computer & be turned away by Fry’s & referred to the manufacturer (whom I already contacted to no avail) or pretend I just changed my mind and eat a $225 restocking charge or buy another computer there that day.  It is a long story, but they totally shell gamed me into a cheaper computer but lied about what I was paying for exactly & TRICKED me into paying $279 for a three year warranty that they said they were giving me for free.  Grrr….

The new computer works – whew!  But – the bad news?  Windows 8!!!  I fucking hate it!  It makes me feel like I just woke up after a ten year nap & technology has left me completely behind.  Why do they fix things that aren’t broken?  Filing & viewing photos is even a huge pain in the ass & WTF does Microsoft have against thumbnails?   Ugh.

Anyway – the photos in this post are markedly sub-par & I apologize.   That was due to many of my usual thwarting realities but mainly that these are a rare item to find in a produce aisle & they are fragile & have a short shelf life – but uncooked & cooked.  Once I’d fried them – I wanted to EAT them.  I didn’t want to shoot them for 10 minutes & then eat cold & soggy fried zucchini flowers – so I popped off a few images & shoved them in my face.  My boy Miles surprised me by not only trying them but he gave them a thumbs up!  He even went back for more – and no cattle prod was required.

So – if you ever see these at a farmer’s market – definitely buy some!  I got them at the incredible Super King for $1.49 a bunch (with about 6-8 flowers per bunch).  Expect to pay more than that elsewhere.  Super King is a wonderland of produce priced well below market value.   If my recipe doesn’t appeal to you – Google others but definitely try these delicate & delicately flavored little, seasonal gems.  I even found sour grapes for sale.   The sign made me smile because it seems like they are selling pissy moods for .99 cents per pound.  But no.  They are selling actual sour grapes.

I wish you could make money selling pissy moods because I have loads to spare & I could earn a fortune.

Also available at Super King is this amazing garlic paste.

It has the texture of hummus & reeks of garlic & is insanely delicious.  I bought some to see if it was like the crack they hand out at Zankou Chicken.  In 1984, I moved to Los Angeles – into an apartment on Normandie south of Sunset.  In 1984, Zankou opened its first American restaurant at Sunset & Normandie.  I ate meat back then.  I ate Zankou.  I used that garlic paste mercilessly!  My boyfriend moved in a year or so later & became obsessed – insisting on it nearly every night.  I had, by then, resumed my obsession with another local restaurant (Torung Thai Restaurant) and their house noodle dish, #7 (now #36).  So – we each got take-out of our respective addictions & ate together but differently.  At any rate – this Super King garlic sauce seems to me to be exactly like the stuff from Zankou.  Make a note.

I used a bit of this garlic paste in my filling & will note that here but you needn’t use it for your fried blossoms to be infinitely edible!

Beer-Batter Fried,Ricotta-Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms 

INGREDIENTS

These portions are off a bit in that I made enough filling for about 25 blossoms but only filled maybe a dozen for frying.

As many zucchini blossoms as you care to fill.  12?  20?

1/4 cup cornstarch

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup beer

lots of oil (vegetable?) for frying (I had my pan about 1 inch deep)

1/8 cup water

4 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup ricotta

2 TBS chopped parsley

1-2 chopped scallions

2 TBS garlic sauce (see story above) – OPTIONAL

1 zip lock baggy to create a pastry bag

DIRECTIONS

Carefully, snip out the pistol with scissors or by pinching with your fingers.  The pistol is the nubby thing growing out of the center of the flowers.  Leave any long stems as they are.

CAREFULLY rinse the blossoms & set them out to dry.  Torn flowers can still be used.  Do not despair!

Whisk the cornstarch, flour, salt & beer together.

Blend the cream cheese, ricotta, parsley, scallions, garlic sauce (if using) and 1/8 cup water.

Cut a small corner off of a zip lock baggy.  Put the cheese blend in it.

Squeeze a small quantity of cheese into the flowers.  Do not overfill.  Gently press the loose leaves into the filling to create a loose seal.

Heat the oil until it is hot but not boiling.  Reduce heat to medium-high or so.

Drag each blossom through the batter & fry them in batches.  Do not overfill your pan or they will all stick together.

Turn & fry until they are golden all over.  Drain on paper towels & serve as soon as possible!