Seaweed Tempura and Crowdie Courgette Blossoms by Carla Lamont of The Ninth Wave Restaurant

The taste of these summer favourites is a harmonious blend of garden and sea. I have also made them with cooked octopus, lobster, crab or a combination of these. We serve them with a herb hollandaise, but Jonny likes his with caper tartar sauce and a pint of homebrew. They are a bit fiddly to make, but so moreish.

Ingredients: Serves 2

  • 4 courgette flowers
  • 75g soft crowdie cheese (or ricotta)
  • 25g of grated Mull Cheddar (or Parmesan)
  • Salt, to taste
  • Pepper, to taste
  • ½ tsp fresh dill, chopped
  • 1 tsp capers, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup cold soda water
  • 120g plain flour, seasoned with a pinch salt and pepper
  • 60g cornflour
  • 1 tsp Mara Shony seaweed
  • Oil for frying, such as sunflower seed oil
  • Hebridean (or other) sea salt

 

Method:

  1. Wash the courgette flowers very gently under cold running water. Remove the hard centre pistil from inside and arrange the flowers on a towel to dry. In the meantime, mix the crowdie cheese with the grated Mull Cheddar in a bowl. Season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper, chopped dill and capers.
  2. Open the flower petals carefully and (using a small spoon or a piping bag filled with the cheese mixture) start to fill the inner cavity with the cheese filling, taking care not to over-fill.
  3. Close the tips of the petals so that the filling remains in place.  If the courgette flowers are large you may tie the ends together with a chive or a long, thin julienne of leek.
  4. Heat a 10cm depth of oil in a suitable deep, heavy-based saucepan until it registers 180°C on a frying thermometer, or until a cube of white bread dropped into the oil turns golden brown in just under a minute.
  5. Measure seaweed, flours and soda into a bowl and whisk together to create a batter.
  6. Cook 2–4 courgette flowers at a time, depending on their size and the diameter of your pan: dip the stuffed flowers into the batter to coat, then carefully lower them into the hot oil. Deep fry for 1–2 minutes, until puffed up, crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with Hebridean sea salt. Serve at once.

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