Jump to Recipe - Vai alla Ricetta Print Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links - Questo post potrebbe contenere link di affiliazione

This vegan Courgette Blossom Pesto is tasty, easy, fragrant and wholesome and ideal to coat your favourite pasta shape with.

Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano

...Such a creative way to use all the parts of your homegrown zucchini plants.

Did you know... that you can make a tasty and wholesome pesto using zucchini flowers?

That's exactly what I'll be showing you today in this post.

If you weren't aware that these gorgeous flowers are edible, I'm glad to be the one that introduces you to these delicate, sweet and highly nutritious little things.

What are Courgette Blossoms

Courgette (or squash) blossoms, are in fact the flowers of the courgette, or zucchini bush which indeed happens to be 100% edible.

There are two sorts of flower: female and male.
The female is the flower attached to the immature fruit. On the other hand we have the male flowers that are the only ones that you would find in the grocery store, and they are a very popular ingredient in the Italian cuisine. The blossom is attached to a long, green and hairy stem.
When growing courgettes at home it is advised to keep at least one male flower for each plant to help the pollination process.

You can also use the female flowers in cooking. The only reason why they are not sold in the shops is because they are less eye-catching due to the lack of the stem, element that also keeps them fresher and more lasting than the females.

The best time to harvest both male and female blossom is typically in the morning, when they are fully open and ideally without any grey/black spots or sign of deterioration.

How to prepare courgette blossoms

To use them you have first to gently wash under cold water to remove impurities and delicately pat dry.

What do Courgette Blossoms taste like

Their velvety texture delivers a subtle, sweet squash taste, making them the perfect addition to pasta dishes or risottos, like this Sea Flavoured Courgette and Blossom Pasta, or vegan omelettes or fritters.

How to cook Courgette Blossoms

You can also stuff them with tofu ricotta and deep fry in abundant oil or oven bake, or you can simply bake a tray of thinly sliced courgettes and shredded flowers, like I've done in this recipe.

Courgette Blossom Nutritional Facts

Nutritious-wise these blossoms are high on vitamin C and they contain a fair amount of minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, zinc, copper and manganese, pretty much the same nutrients that we find in the actual fruit.

How to make Courgette Blossom Pesto

To make this plant based pesto sauce to be used to coat our favourite pasta or to enrich any preparation of your choice we have to go through only Three easy steps:

STEP ONE

Sauté the courgette blossom in a hot pan with a kiss of olive oil and garlic.

STEP TWO

Add sautéed flowers and garlic with the rest of the ingredients and blend to a smooth paste.

STEP THREE

Coat your favourite pasta or use the courgette blossom pesto as you please.

Courgette Blossom Pesto Recipe

Ingredients:
200 g Pasta
100 g Courgette Flowers
3 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
20 g Vegan Grated Cheese
10 g Basil Leaves
10 g Toasted Almond
1-2 Garlic Cloves
1 pinch Turmeric
Salt
Pepper

Method:
1. Gently wash the flowers under cold water and carefully pat dry.
2. In a pan sauté the flowers with some olive oil and garlic until wilted.
3. Add sautéed flowers and garlic with the rest of the ingredients to a blender bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste, and blend to a smooth paste.
4. Cook the pasta al dente making sure to keep some of the cooking water.
5. Add courgette blossom pesto drained pasta with a couple of tablespoons of water in a pan, and heat together for a couple of minutes.
6. Serve immediately with some more vegan cheese and almond shavings if you like.

Did you like this recipe? Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the mail list to receive new posts updates straight to your inbox.
Follow and support this blog on Instagram , Facebook and Pinterest .