Crab and mascarpone stuffed zucchini blossoms bring fried squash blossoms to another level. They’re crispy, creamy and decadent.
I feel like every time squash blossom season rolls around, I just need to test out a new recipe. My inspiration came from lobster-stuffed zucchini blossoms from Food and Wine Magazine. Here I opted to stuff my fried squash blossoms with a mix of lump crab meat, mascarpone cheese, lemon and basil. Food and Wine used a typical breading made of flour, egg and bread crumb, which is delicious, but while testing this recipe I realized I prefer to batter the blossoms for a more delicate coating that lets the crab flavor come through. Alcohol and carbonation both lead to crispy, light fried goodies, so I decided to beer batter these babies.
The results were addictive. Light crispy squash blossoms with a warm, creamy crab filling. SO good. A little salt out of the fryer and squeeze of lemon give the fried squash blossoms the perfect finishing touches.
One important note on the recipe: I was able to stuff 24 squash blossoms with my crab filling recipe, but blossoms run in different sizes, so you may only have enough filling for 12 larger blossoms. If you happen to have extra squash blossoms and batter left over, the blossoms are awesome straight up battered and fried without filling too! That’s how my Aunt Liliana used to do it. So if you’re able to find squash blossoms at your local grocery store or farmer’s market, be sure to pick them up and try this recipe!
Fried Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Crab & Mascarpone
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 2 dozen squash blossoms 1x
Description
Crab and mascarpone stuffed zucchini blossoms bring fried squash blossoms to another level. Serve them as an appetizer at your next summer get together, or make a meal out of them with your significant other.
Ingredients
24 zucchini blossoms (fewer, if large), stamens and sepals removed
Vegetable oil, for frying
Lemon wedges, for serving
Stuffing:
- 8 oz lump crab meat
- 4 oz mascarpone cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp chopped basil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Kosher salt
Batter:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 8 oz light beer
Instructions
- Mix filling: Whisk together cheese and egg. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Gently fold in basil and crab. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Stuff blossoms: Using a small spoon, carefully fill blossoms with crab mixture, keeping the petals as tight as possible. The number of blossoms needed for this amount of filling ranges, depending on the size of your zucchini flowers.
- Heat oil: Heat 1 inch of oil in a pan over medium heat until slightly shimmering.
- Batter & fry: Add flour to a medium bowl and gradually pour in beer while whisking. It鈥檚 okay if there are some lumps, just try not to allow the batter to deflate. Dip stuffed blossoms in, one at a time, allow excess batter to drip off, and immediately place blossoms into hot oil. Cook a total of 3 to 4 minutes, flipping half way through, or until golden brown. Cook in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Drain on a paper towel- lined plate. Sprinkle lightly with salt. You may have excess batter remaining, which you can use for any extra unstuffed zucchini blossoms, if desired. Enjoy while hot.
Notes
This recipe is adapted from Food and Wine’s Lobster-Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 squash blossoms
- Calories: 223
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 240mg
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 17g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 11g
They are also delicious in quesadillas with chorizo OMG with handmade tortillas
You鈥檙e right! I actually made squash blossom quesadillas at an event I was helping to cater a couple years ago!
WOW. Now that is the way you can get me to eat flowers! (I had a bad flower experience when my mother was in her Asian cooking phase.) Those look phenomenal. And that crab. I’m guessing it’s fresh. AARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!
Thank you!! This is definitely the way to eat flowers lol. Hope you try it out 馃檪
I must try this recipe! I’ve only had these battered and fried. The stuffing in these looks amazing!
Thanks, mom 馃檪