About a decade ago, not many of us knew about eating the flowers from squash. Now, it’s fairly common to see stuffed and fried squash blossoms on a seasonal menu at many restaurants. Those delicious, nutritious (full of vitamins A & C) blossoms aren’t just for frying, though. Here are five recipes that will let you experiment with squash blossoms without using batter and a deep fryer.

 

Wild Mushroom and Squash Blossom Soup – This recipe calls for a trip to the farmers market. Onions, garlic, zucchini, fresh corn, cilantro and peppers join the squash blossoms and mushrooms in this oh-so-seasonal soup. A note about the ingredient list. There’s an odd break. Where it says “½ pound fried chicken,” the next line that reads “mushrooms or other wild mush- rooms, tips of stems removed and rinsed” should be on the same line. It’s actually calling for fried chicken mushrooms, but you need to read the note at the bottom to make it clear.

 

Squash Blossom Quesadillas – This Food Network recipe uses the blossoms as a filling for quesadillas. One commenter said that these are just like the quesadillas her husband ate growing up in Mexico.

 

Squash Blossom Omelet – An entire omelet filled with chopped leeks, red pepper and zucchini, and cheese gets rolled inside two open, slightly sautéed squash blossoms.

 

Squash Blossom Rice – An easy, healthy side dish for a summer meal. Thinly sliced squash blossoms are added to long-grain rice and then cooked as easily as any other rice dish.

 

 

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