Fried courgette flowers

Courgette flowers are just starting to become available in markets in the UK, however, I wouldn’t attempt this dish unless you can get them really fresh. If you grow your own courgettes, you’re laughing . I’ve included the recipe for the batter I used, but you can use your favourite instead. It needs to be quite light though. I think mine was a bit on the heavy side this time Oh, well! I’ll do better next time.

To trim, cut off the stalk, gently open up the flower and pinch out the stamens.   Serves 4

• 12 courgette flowers, trimmed
• For the batter
• 100g plain flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 5 tbsp white wine
• 1 egg, seperated

1. Mix together the flour, oil, wine and egg yolk in a bowl and season with
   salt and pepper.
2. Add enough warm water to make a fairly runny batter. You’re aiming for a
   consistensy of about single cream.
3. This part is important – don’t be tempted to skip it Leave to stand
   for at least an hour.
4. Whisk the egg white until it’s stiff and fold gently into the batter.
5. Dip the flowers in the batter and deep fry until they are lightly brown
6. Drain on kitchen paper, season with salt and serve IMMEDIATELY!