Zucchini Blossom Dumplings

a dough-less dumpling experiment

Rolling up grains or minced meat and herbs in plants is nothing new. Cabbage, grape leaves, fig leaves, banana leaves, shiso leaves (and many more) are used all over the world to wrap up fragrant bundles of goodness before steaming or frying them. In the case of banana or fig leaves, the leaves serve just as a temporary cooking envelope, shielding what’s inside from direct heat and imparting a hint of flavour. In the case of cabbage or grape leaves, the leaves are edible.

On to today’s star: zucchini flowers, courgette blossoms, fior du zucca - whatever you want to call them. They scream summer, they are so very versatile, they taste mild and delicate, similar to zucchini. Their texture is soft and velvety. There are male and female flowers. The male flowers have stems, the female flowers are attached to the zucchini. If you’re growing them yourself, you should only pick the male ones, and wait for the fruit to grow on the female ones.

In Italy, you’ll see the blossoms stuffed (typically with some kind of cheese), then battered and fried. I find battering and frying things overwhelming and intimidating, and having spent several weeks this summer in the Alps I’m a bit cheesed out, so I decided to use them as vessels for a spicy little dumpling mixture, which I then steamed, served on top of udon noods, and dipped into a spicy little sauce.

The ingredient list may seem overwhelming but I promise that once you decide to stock certain ingredients (lemongrass, lime leaves, chilis) in your freezer, you’ll never look back. Dumplings, tom kha gai, tom yum goong, etc. are now possible at your every whim!!!