Zucchini Flowers A Tasty Summer Treat

This is the time of year when zucchini plants are in full blossom.Gardens and even farmers' markets are showing these delicate bright orange blooms.They're an interesting and delicious addition to any summer table. Melissa Clark highlighted them in her A Good Appetite Column in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. Gourmets and Northern Italians have been cooking them for years.They were and are big part of my summer eating .Our family usually makes them two ways ,breaded and fried in butter or dipped in a delicate crepe batter and then fried, again in butter until they are crispy.Ms .Clark serves them raw in a salad or stuffed with mozzarella cheese. Either way is good .Raw squash flowers have a fragile taste ,sweet and slight Y herbal.Their stems are like arugula,spicier with a slight bite.The dressing should be Light.I'm thinking of a simple vinaigrette with just olive oil and red wine vinegar.The other way is fried and stuffed with a kind of mozzarella called bur rata.This is made from buffalo milk and has a creamy inside.Ms. Clark adds anchovies for a briny contrast along with garlic.The blooms are then deep fried in olive oil and Sprinkled with coarse sea salt. Squash flowers are a lovely and colorful addition to a summer table.Experience their delicacy in salads or stuffed and fried.Either way you'll fall for these bright,summery blossoms bursting with flavor.