Deep fried stuffed courgette flowers

I love seeing fresh courgette flowers in a supermarket whilst in Italy. This is my go-to receipe for stuffing them and deep frying them but I've only had the chance to do them before whilst in Puglia many years ago, until now, I know someone who grows his own courgettes!

Ingredients

12 courgette flowers

Sunflower oil, for deep-frying

for the filling

200g ricotta

40g grated Pecorino

1 tsp frech thyme, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp lemon juice 

for the batter

100g plain flour

40g cornflour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

200ml ice-cold sparkling mineral water 

Method

Prepare the filling by simply mixing all the ingredients together. Beat well with a fork to make it lighter. Season with salt and pepper. 

Wash the flowers and pat dry. Remove the flower's stimen, then scoop a good heaped teaspoon into the flowers, enough to fill the "cup" of the flower. Don't overfill. (In fact the ricotta filling could be optional as the flowers are often served just dipped in batter and fried)

Close the petails to seal the parcel. Twist the petals gently to enclose the mixture.

Make the batter by sifting the flour and cornflour into a bowl. Add baking powder and salt. Slowly pour in the water, whisking gently to incorporate into a batter. Don't over whick the batter or you'll loose the benefit from the carbonated water. It all helps to make a crispy batter. 

It doesn't need to be too thick. Something like the consistency of single cream.

When you're ready to cook heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to a temperature of 180C. You can test its hot enough by dropping a bit of batter and see how it cooks in a minute. 

Dip a stuffed courgette flower into the batter and immediately drop into the hot oil. Repeat with a few more. Don't over crowd the fryer or they'll stick together. 

Cook for a minute or two until crisp and golden brown.  Drain on kitchen paper. 

Repeat with al the remaining flowers.

Serve as soon as possible, with a wedge of lemon and a pinch of salt.