Cashew Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Anyone out there interested in participating in the Vegan Month of Food 2013?  (VeganMoFo) The fun starts in September. You can see my VeganMoFo2012 posts by clicking here. 

What a beautiful and elegant way to start our meal, with these delicious stuffed squash blossoms. Surprisingly, it wasn't that tricky…. except for the bees who were living in two of the blossoms!  I followed recipes I found here and here and I researched all kinds of tips on how to deal with the blossoms. Honestly, it wasn't hard at all and I was surprised how sturdy those beautiful golden curls were. Once the cashew cheese was inside, the petals just closed right up around it. Dip them in milk, dredge them in seasoned flour, pan fry them, sprinkle them with salt and gobble away. 

When choosing your squash blossoms, try to pick only the male flower. They have longer, slimmer stems. The female squash flower is attached to a thick, squat stem, which will become the fruit. But be sure to leave some male flowers so the bees can do their pollination thing!

Picked fresh from my garden

I tried to get a photo of the bee living inside - trust me, he was in there

Stuff them, dredge them

Fry them

Serve them with something light - Salad Nicoise was my choice

Here’s what you need:

Fresh squash blossoms – yellow squash, zucchini, pumpkin

½ C raw cashews, soaked overnight in water in the fridge

1 T white miso

2 T nutritional yeast

1 T olive oil

1 T fresh basil

1 C almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1 T cornstarch

½ C flour

A pinch of oregano, thyme, basil, etc for the flour

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

Here’s what you do:

Make the cashew cheese by blending the cashews, miso, nutritional yeast and oil in a high powered blender. I had to stop and scrape and press down the cheese quite a bit because it’s really thick. Mine never got totally creamy, but it didn't matter. When it’s pretty well blended, add the basil. Scoop it into a pastry bag (or zip lock type bag).

Prepare the blossoms by opening up a seam and removing the pistol and rinsing away any unwanted stuff….like bees and such.  Fill each blossom cavity with some cheese. The yellow tips of the blossoms will wrap right around the filling. Don’t worry if the flowers break apart – the cheese will hold them together.

Mix the cornstarch milk and place in a shallow bowl. Season the flour with oregano, thyme, salt, pepper. Dip each flower in the milk and then dredge in the flour. Fry them in a bit of oil until brown and crisp. Serve immediately. 

(printable recipe)