Courgette Flowers Filled with Bulgar Wheat And Fresh Herbs ©

Easy

6 Persons

Ingredients

1/2 cup Olive oil

1/2 cup chopped Onions

1/2 cup chopped Spring onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup grated Courgette/Zucchini

1/2 cup of Bulgar wheat

2 tbs chopped currants(optional)

1/2-1 tsp finely chopped fresh Chili pepper

1.1/2 Cups of water, or more.

1 tbs pine nuts (optional)

1.1/2 tbs chopped mint

1/2 cup chopped Dill

Salt and Pepper

15 Courgette Flowers

2 Cartons of Thick Greek Yogurt

Method

1. Preheat Oven at 190. C.

2. Soak flowers in salted water and drain on kitchen paper. Check the inside of the flower carefully.

3. In a saucepan, heat half the olive oil over a medium heat and saute the onions the spring onions and the garlic, until soft,  and transparent, don’t brown, about 3 mins.

4. Add the grated courgettes, (grated on the large holes of the grater,) bulgar wheat, currants if using and chili pepper with  seeds removed. Add 1/2 cup of water or more, reduce heat and simmer, if too thick, add more water. Simmer for ten mins.

5. Turn off heat and add roughly chopped pine nuts, mint and chopped dill to the stuffing. Season with salt, stir and taste. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

6. Using a tea spoon fill each flower 1/2–3/4 full and fold over petals. Lay on their sides in oven proof dish, packing them closely together.

7. Pour over remaining olive oil and a little water, salt and pepper. Cover dish with tin foil and place in oven. Bake for one hour, check that a little more water is not needed half way through cooking time.

Serve hot or cold with a big bowl of thick Greek Yogurt.

I first tried these in Hania Crete. ….such a wonderful City, such wonderful food….!

Pick flowers in the morning when they are open.

Soak flowers in a bowl of cold salted water for five minutes.  Check inside each flower, as you rinse

under running water.

Prepare all ingredients.Left to right, garlic, chili and spring onions. Grated Courgette/Zucchini. Mint.

Chopped onion. Chopped fennel leaves.

In the above photograph double quantities are shown, as I had many flowers to fill.

Roughly chop pine nuts and  raisins.

Having cooked the stuffing, as set down in ‘Method,’ use a teaspoon to half fill the flowers, leaving the

top parts to fold over.

Arrange close together in oven-proof dish, pour over water, oil and add salt and pepper and  bake covered with tin foil in pre-heated oven for one hour. Try one,

to check it is ready and serve hot or cold with thick Greek yogurt. Delicious!