Tip, Trick & a Recipe: Squash Blossoms

I enjoyed a bumper crop of zucchini this year from my garden, but I’m definitely over the beautiful orange squash blossoms for this season, sadly.

Today, we’re going to give you a trick, a tip, and a great recipe to use with squash blossoms (and you can use any blossom, from any squash, even pumpkin!)

Squash plants produce male and female flowers. The male flowers are commonly referred to as false blossoms as it’s the female flower that produces the actual little baby squashes.

Squash blossoms are about 4 inches long and they have papery orange petals.

(If you don’t grow your own squash, you will have a hard time finding squash blossoms because they are extremely perishable. Ask around at the farmers’ market to see if anyone has any blossoms they can sell you.)

Squash blossoms aren’t very high in nutrition, but they are tasty, gorgeous, and fun to eat!

Now for your Trick:

Insects may be hiding in those blossoms, so wash them really well before using. You also need to remove the fuzzy yellow part from inside the flower.

Your Tip:

You can either toss the blossoms in with a stir fry or soup, or you can stuff them with whatever sort of filling you’d like and lightly sauté them for an impressive appetizer. Or treat them like pasta and serve them with tomato sauce. Use your imagination!

And your Squash Blossom Recipe:

Balsamic California Chicken Salad

No ratings yet
Course Main Dish, Salads
Cuisine Paleo
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

Balsamic Vinaigrette

  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons raw honey
  • 2 cloves garlic pressed
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

Salad

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 4 cups mixed salad greens
  • 2 cups squash blossoms stems removed
  • 3 Roma tomatoes chopped
  • 1/2 medium red onion chopped
  • 1 avocado peeled, pitted, and diced
  • 1 English cucumber sliced sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups alfalfa sprouts or your favorite sprouts
  • 1/3 cup cooked and chopped bacon

Instructions
 

  • Preheat outdoor grill to MEDIUM-HIGH.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients for vinaigrette; blend well then set aside.
  • Brush all sides of chicken with melted coconut oil then evenly season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Grill for 5 to 7 minutes per side or until juices run clear; remove from grill and set aside to cool.
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss together remaining salad ingredients (mixed greens through bacon). Chop the cooked chicken and add it to the salad. Drizzle vinaigrette over the top and enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for more delicious recipes like this one? Check out our Dinner Answers program today!

One Response

Leave a Reply to Emilia Contressa Gomez Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating