Summer Squash Tempura

A purée of the green zucchini with green onion and Tuscan kale, topped with finely diced yellow and green summer squash sautéd in our fresh garlic and olive oil, as a base for crispy tempura squash blossoms filled with Crescenza cheese & herbs. Summer on a plate!

Asher's younger brother Alex is in training in the kitchen this summer, and we have taught him how to harvest the blossoms for dinner. Among the things to keep in mind: the flowers open in the morning and close up in the afternoon, so it's best to pick them mid-morning, when they are open, but when it's not so hot that they will wilt quickly.  Store them in the cooler in-between damp towels to keep them fresh.  And only pick the male blossoms, which are the ones on a long, thin stock, with now burgeoning fruit a their base.  Pick the female blossoms and you won't have any summer squash.  We plant specific varities of summer squash just for their blossoms, but we also find that the blossoms of the fall squash work well too.