Edible squash flowers have a light delicate taste and are the feature of this easy squash blossom pasta recipe.
Most of you know that I do not have a vegetable garden. So why am I writing about squash blossoms?
I had a few gourds and squash as part of my fall decor last year and when they started to get old I tossed them into my compost pile. Low and behold didn't a couple of them start to grow this year.
I did harvest that one pretty green acorn squash above, but there were also plenty of blossoms, so I thought I'd make a simple pasta dish with them.
Just a little FYI. This is a male blossom with an anther in the center. Their job is to pollinate the female blossoms which produce the fruit.
Here's a female blossom. The interior is a little out of focus but you can see the stigma in the center. Also, you can see the beginning of a squash growing right at the base of the bloom.
Most of the time you see articles where people stuff the blossoms with cheese and fry them.
I had some cherry tomatoes and plenty of fresh basil so I thought they would work well in a pasta.
You can use any kind of pasta you like. The squash blossoms have a very light taste. Different from other edible flowers which often have a perfume-like taste and some are even a little bitter. These are nothing like that.
If you're growing squash like zucchini and already have plenty of fruit, feel free to harvest a bunch of the male blossoms as they are more typically numerous then the female blooms, and have already done their job.
Stuff them. Add them to a salad or make this easy and tasty pasta dish.
Squash Blossom Pasta
- 1 pound bucatini pasta
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic chopped, grated or crushed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh squash blossom, 8-10 chopped
- 6-8 cherry tomatoes
- 2/3 cup pasta water
- juice of one lemon
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Boil the pasta according to the package directions. Do not drain.
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Remove the anthers and stigmas from the inside of the blossoms and discard. Lightly rinse with water and roughly chop.
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In a large saute pan add the olive oil and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes on medium-low heat. Do not let the garlic burn
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Add squash blossoms and tomatoes and saute for a few more minutes.
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Add basil and butter. Stir well
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Add cooked pasta along with 2/3 cup of the pasta water.
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Stir together on low heat for another minute until all ingredients are well combined.
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Remove and stir in lemon juice.
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Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
Carole West
Patti this is so interesting and I was aware of the female and male blossoms but didn't realize you could eat them. Great list of ingredients and I think that squash plant was just God's way of saying... It's time to grow a little Startle Garden. Enjoy a Great weekend!
Patti Estep
Thanks Carole. They were very mild tasting and it was fun to be able to use them in a yummy pasta dish. Especially because of the way they volunteered in the compost pile. I had to do something with this nice surprise. And, you may be right. TIme to create a Startle Garden.