Courgette Flowers

 As my aim is to grow food in my little garden that can double up as a flower garden, food for insects and  food for my friends and family.

Courgettes and squashes do just that. They are bold plants which look great in a flower garden and will feed your family and friends for weeks during the summer (and if stored properly, winter months)

Today I picked them to stuff the flowers and made this tempura batter as I had run out of eggs and this vegan version works very well too.

Ingredients

Tempura Batter

• ▢ 1/4 cup cold aquafaba
• ▢ 1 cup ice cold soda water, , plus more to thin batter
• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ pinch salt
• ▢ pinch brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 3 tbsp oil

Vegetable Tempura

• ▢ 1/2 crown broccoli, , chopped into bite sized florets
• ▢ 1 medium sweet potato, , sliced into 1/4" rounds
• ▢ 150 grams green beans, , ends trimmed
• ▢ 1 bunch green onions, , chopped into 3" pieces
• ▢ 1 bunch chives
• ▢ vegetable oil, , for frying

Instructions

• Important tip: Anytime you are not using the tempura batter make sure to keep it in the fridge. It needs to be ice cold to work out the best. 
• To make the tempura, add aquafaba to a medium bowl and vigorously whisk until foamy. Add the soda water while continually whisking to keep the foam. Add the flour, salt, brown sugar and baking powder and whisk until smooth. Add the oil and mix until smooth - if the batter is thick add another splash of soda water to thin it out. It should be like a crepe batter. Store in the fridge until ready to use. 
• In a dutch oven or a deep pot pour in the vegetable oil until it's about 2" deep. Heat until 350F. 
• Add the chopped vegetables to the batter and coat. Place individually in the hot oil and fry until golden brown or about 3-4 minutes. Remember not to over-crowd the oil as this is a serious safety hazard. Check out our deep frying safety tips for more information. 
• Place fried tempura on a plate with paper towel to absorb any extra grease. Serve with soy sauce or spicy mayo