Squash Blossom Pakoras
Photo: Ajna Jai / Contributor
A couple of weeks ago at the farmers market, Armando Bustamante — a farmer with a warm smile and a large field in the Heights neighborhood who has often provided us with local fennel, cauliflower and amaranth leaves — asked me if I’d like some squash blossoms. He had too many and did not know what to do with them.
The next day a giant container of huge sunflower-yellow delicate squash blossoms landed in the restaurant's kitchen. We tore some up and threw them into salads; one of my cooks went to town making squash blossom quesadillas for family meal; and I decided to try a true and tested approach with them. Stuffed with a tangy cream cheese filling, they were tasty just as is and could be served chilled with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. But fried in a light delicate pakora batter, they were ethereally delicious, especially when the fried blossom pakora was stuffed inside a fresh blossom.