I grow a variety of squash called Costata Romanesco. Zucchini Costata Romanesco D2053A (Green) 25 Heirloom Seeds by David’s Garden Seeds
It is robust and produces steadily even when the leaves get mildew. It’s an interesting summer squash in that even when the squash is large enough to be picked the flowers are still fresh and attached to the end. So frequently, when we pick this vegetable, I find myself cutting the flowers off. Why waste an edible and delicious part of this plant?
Although many stuff squash blossoms with meat or bread-crumb fillings, I decided to use what I had on hand: Tuscan kale, ricotta salata cheese and some chives to tie the flowers closed. This combination proved to be fast, tasty and beautiful.
See how the flowers are still plump even though the squash are already of picking size? You could also harvest flowers that haven’t formed fruit, however. Some people look for the male flowers, which are often open in the morning and don’t have fruit forming under the blooms.
I cut the flowers off, sliced some ricotta salata and picked a few leaves of kale and chives.
Next I cut the cheese into sticks and tucked three or four into each flower. I then sliced the kale into ribbons, and stuffed as much kale into each flower as would fit without ripping the blossom.
Finally, I tied each closed with a couple of chives. This was, frankly, more for appearance than anything else although the chives did add a nice flavor accent to the dish. I drizzled about a teaspoon of olive oil on top of each flower, then put these stuffed packets onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and into the oven which was heated to 375 degrees.
About twenty minutes later the squash blossoms and kale were wilted and the chives had just started to brown on the tips. What made this especially wonderful was the way the saltiness of the cheese contrasted with the fresh, slight bitterness of the kale and the sweetness of the squash flowers. A winning recipe that took only a few minutes to assemble. We served these as a side dish with other veggies and fish. They would make a good first course or even a luncheon dish to serve with a salad and good bread.
