Maili’s Tempura-Fried Squash Blossoms

Maili’s Tempura-Fried Squash Blossoms and Tempura-Fried Basil Leaves

Serendipity is often your friend in the kitchen. During her class, Chef Maili planned to teach us how to prepare her delectable tempura-fried squash blossoms. But when we went out to my garden to harvest the blossoms, we realized we weren’t going to find enough for the recipe. Maili spotted my abundant basil leaves, though, and immediately suggested that we give them a try. And, of course, her fried basil creation became the hit of the class. We all agreed (with mouthfuls of basil bliss) that the stuffed and fried basil leaves were even tastier than the squash blossoms. The basil leaves are also smaller, making them a great option for a passed appetizer plate — they’re just the right size to pop in your mouth in one bite (and then catch the tray to grab one more).

Suffice to say, Maili knows how to stuff her squash blossoms: perhaps with crab and blood oranges … or a white bean puree … or goat cheese with hazelnuts … whatever is fresh and available. For our class she stuffed the blossoms and basil leaves with a mixture of goat cheese, minced jalapenos, minced dried apricots, and garlic. It may sound like a lot of ingredients, but believe me, it certainly tasted great and was very well balanced. It was a great complement to the Abarino from Spain we were drinking … did I mention how hard we were working to learn all these new recipes? After mixing the filling, Maili herself stuffed each blossom, and for the basil leaves, wrapped them up like tiny tacos, pinching the edges closed. She then dunked them in a tempura batter and fried them until golden brown.

To garnish the plate we used a combination of green bean and arugula flowers from my garden and added a drizzle of Maili’s reduced balsamic.*

Let me know what divine combinations you come up with!