Let this baby squash and squash blossom salad serve as my official debutante ball as a born and bred flower obsessor. I mean that quite literally: My mother was an aromatherapist and herbologist, and spent most of her life studying, planting, talking to, or alchemizing flowers. She used to wake me up from naps by walking me around the garden, my head lolling against her chest as she named every plant we passed.
Now that my mom isn’t around (she passed away almost seven years ago now—a story for another time), any chance I have to spend time with flowers offers a sweet kinesthetic thread to her legacy. She would have loved this salad.
This time of year is a floral dream—spring brings not just a bounty of produce, but an abundance of the very flowers that yield this new harvest. Squash blossoms are an edible flower I’m much newer to, particularly when they’re not being stuffed with cheese and deep fried. (Let me add: That is an option to which I am exceedingly open, but I need lessons in deep frying!)
These blooms were so gorgeous (also, can I just say: they cost me 40 cents—WHUT), I couldn’t resist exploring their taste raw. When I ventured into the base of the flower, I discovered a pistil absolutely covered in rich yellow pollen. Feeling mildly sexual about the whole thing, I popped the pistil in my mouth and let my tongue run over the pollen. It was delish! Faintly spicy, mellow, and rich.
I decided I had to use the pistils in the carpaccio (you can see them garnishing the top of the finished salad).
Let’s discuss this dish while we’re at it: Paper thin ribbons of baby squash, bursts of fresh lemon and olive oil, squash blossoms, fresh mint and basil, and mellow goat’s cheese. It’s a spring dream.
And it takes about 10 minutes to make, tops. Find the recipe this week on Intuitive Eating with Kale & Caramel over on Sonima.com.
Happy Spring! Don’t forget to eat your flower pistils ; ).
Ingredients
- 4 small summer squash I like yellow and green
- 4 squash blossoms
- 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 6 leaves large basil
- 10 leaves mint
- 1/4 teaspoon sea
- salt cracked pepper
- 2 ounces chèvre goat's cheese
Instructions
- Wash and trim the ends of your squash. Use a vegetable peeler to thinly slice the squash lengthwise, creating long ribbons, into a bowl.
- Finely chop your fresh basil and mint, and toss into bowl with squash. Add lemon juice, sea salt, and cracked pepper. Gently toss and massage, allowing the squash to soften with the acid of the lemon, and the salt’s minerals. If it seems a bit dry, and more lemon, or a few drizzles of olive oil. Before serving, toss in the petals of squash blossoms and crumbled goat cheese.
