One of my favorite dishes at the Salt Yard restaurant in London is these deep fried courgette flowers. The vibrant courgette flowers are stuffed with a bright and grassy, creamy goats cheese and then deep fried in a light and crisp tempura style batter and finally drizzled with a sweet lavender honey. Recreating them at home is easier than I had originally thought and if you spot some in the market, snap them up, the make a superb summer starter. The male flowers don’t have the small courgettes attached so make sure you choose the female variety with immature fruit attached.
8-12 baby courgettes with the flower attached
250g of soft goats cheese
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves finely chopped
2-3 tbsp of lavender honey
1 litre of sunflower oil to fry
For the batter:
8 tbsp of plain flour
8 tbsp of ice cold sparkling water
Sea salt and ground black pepper
Bowl
Large high sided pot