Zucchini flowers with goats curd

We've been getting to the Farmer's Market a more frequently.  I'm not sure whether it's nesting, budgeting, or just better organisation, but it's been brilliant to have an abundance of gorgeous fruit in the house.  And last week we came home with zucchini flowers! Delicate, baby zucchini flowers.

And here's the thing.  When you're pregnant there's this endless list of stuff you're not supposed to eat.  Like soft cheeses.  SOFT CHEESE I TELLS YA! Unless, that is, they're cooked.  So being a resourceful woman, one starts concocting all kinds of reasons for heating up cheese.  Reasons like zucchini flowers...

We got ourselves some Meredith goat's curd (and can I just say: Holy Crapballs is THAT stuff good!).  And we already have a supply of black truffle salt.  Yeah, you heard. And then we fried.

I'd never cooked these before so had no idea really what I was doing, and it didn't matter because it turns out that it was pretty simple.  The baby zucchinis are sweet and succulent, and all the batter fried cheese is goes 'pouffe' in your mouth in a way that is so seriously good that you'll wolf them all before you know what's happened.

So next time you need to impress guests or pregnant ladies, look no further than this recipe. For real.

Ingredients:

• 4 Baby zucchini flowers
• 4 teaspoons goat's curd
• Truffle salt (or regular salt, for the prols)
• Canola or vegetable oil for frying

 For the batter:

• 3/4 cup of flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water

Start by preparing your batter.  Whisk together the ingredients to form a loose paste, adding more flour or water as needed.

Gently rinse and pat dry the zucchini flowers, and split open the tops to about two thirds of the way down.  Then it all gets a bit Sapphic, as you need to pinch the stamen inside and gently twist to remove it, without disturbing the surrounding petals.  Rest the flowers on a tea towel.

Mix a pinch of truffle salt into the goats curd and spoon a small amount into each zucchini flower, using your finger to push it down inside.  Then pinch together the petals to seal the flower.  Heat your oil.

Dip the flowers in batter and fry until golden brown, then drain on paper towel.

If you have left over goats curd that you simply HAVE to cook, then roll it into balls, roll in bread crumbs and then dunk in the batter and fry in the oil until they form crunchy, cheesy nobbins of amazingness.  Drain these along side your zucchini flowers and drizzle with Tobasco or some other spicy sauce.

Eat the lot with a fresh, tangy heirloom tomato and basil salad.