When I made my ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could create an equally delicious vegan stuffed squash blossoms recipe. You all know I’ve been dealing with a bumper crop of zucchini lately, hence this fresh zucchini hummus recipe.
I thought about it awhile, and realized I already had the perfect vegan filling for stuffed squash blossoms – the one from this vegan potato chard enchilada recipe. This filling, super savory with the lovely flavor of roasted pumpkin seeds, is perfect for fried squash blossoms. It’s thick enough to not run all over, and once fried inside the flowers, it’s perfectly creamy without being fatty-tasting. Seriously, it’s almost better than the non-vegan ricotta-cheese version. Almost. ;)
Vegan stuffed squash blossoms — sauce or no?
I personally like my vegan stuffed squash blossoms sans-sauce, but I’ve included a tomato sauce recipe below because that seems to be how most of my guests prefer to have them served. Either with sauce or without, this recipe makes for some of the best squash blossoms I’ve ever eaten, vegan or otherwise.
NOTE: These filling and sauce for this stuffed squash blossoms recipes were originally created by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero for Veganomicon, hands down the best vegan cookbook ever. Seriously.
Vegan Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Potato Pumpkin Seed Filling
Ingredients
For the potato chard filling:
- 1/8 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 pound Yukon gold or other waxy potatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup chopped chard
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 cup veggie broth
- 4 teaspoons lime juice (1 lime’s worth)
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the tomato sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 small onion diced
- 1 large green chili roasted, peeled, and seeded (I used mild Anaheim… use whatever you prefer)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
- One 14-ounce can roasted diced tomatoes with the juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar or agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the stuffing squash blossoms:
- 18 to 24 fresh zucchini blossoms chilled
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/4 cup chickpea & fava bean flour (aka: garfava flour)
- canola oil enough to fill a skillet to 1″ deep (about 8 cups, depending on the size of your pan)
- 2 cups tomato sauce (recipe above, or use your favorite)
Instructions
To make the filling:
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add pumpkin seeds. Toast them in the hot pan until they start to brown and smell nice, then chop them coarsely with a heavy knife. Set aside.
- Start a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Peel potatoes if you like (I leave the skins on for taste and texture) and chop them into 1-inch cubes. Add to potatoes boiling water and boil until tender, about 12 minutes, then drain, mash a bit with a fork, and set aside.
- In a large skillet over a medium-low flame, heat olive oil until it shimmers. Add garlic and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
- Add chard and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Increase burner level to medium, stirring constantly to mix chard, oil, and garlic. Cover and steam for about five minutes, until greens are wilted.
- Remove lid and mix in potatoes, mashing a bit more as you go. You want it loose, but with nice potato-y chunks. Add veggie stock, lime juice, cumin, pumpkin seeds, and salt, cooking another four minutes, until the stock is absorbed. Add more stock or lime juice to taste, then remove from heat. Allow to cool before stuffing squash blossoms.
To make the sauce:
- In a large, heavy bottom sauce pan, saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until soft – about five minutes. Add remaining sauce ingredients, bring up to a simmer, and remove from heat.
- When mixture has cooled a bit, taste and adjust salt if necessary. Blend the sauce with an immersion blender until smooth (I just pour the sauce into my regular blender and use that… it makes far less of a splattery mess than the immersion blender).
Stuff the squash blossoms:
- Gently coax open a squash blossom, being careful not to tear its tender petals. Using a small spoon, fill the blossom with about a tablespoon of filling. Twist the end of the petals to to seal the flower. Repeat with remaining flowers.
- In a small bowl, combine water and chickpea/fava bean flour, mixing until well combined. If you prefer a thinner batter, add more water a tablespoon at a time until it is at a consistency you prefer.
- Holding the stem end of a filled and sealed squash blossom, dip the whole thing into the batter and set on a plate. Repeat with remaining filled blossoms.
- When all the vegan stuffed squash blossoms are battered, cover them and place them back in the refrigerator until the oil is ready.
- In a heavy pan, heat 1-inch of canola oil until it is to frying temperature 375°F (190°C). Once oil is at the correct temperature, use a pair of tongs to gently place half the blossoms in the oil. Allow them to fry for 2 minutes, then turn them over with the tongs. Fry for another 2 minutes, or until they are nice golden brown. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel. Bring oil back up to 375°F (190°C) and fry remaining blossoms.
- Serve hot and topped with tomato sauce (or eat straight-up!). Vegan stuffed squash blossoms are perfect dipped into balsamic vinegar, too.
Notes
Nutrition
This content was originally posted on FearlessFresh.com.