Edible Flowers

How can you forget the first time you taste a flower? I remember when my childhood friend Cathy taught me to suck the nectar from a red honeysuckle flower (we seven years old and walking in the "woods," a sad lot of scrub forest where a house still hadn't been built). And I remember the first time I ate a flower, petals and all, in the zucchini-blossom pancakes that my grandmother made one sunny, summer morning in her sparkling kitchen on Long Island. Those delicate yellow-orange flowers are a staple of southern Italian cooking and it turns out they're a staple of southern Mexican cooking, as well.

Sold in handsome bouquets in traditional markets here, zucchini flowers—typically sauteed with onions and herbs—are a popular filling for Mexican street foods like gorditas, huaraches or quesadillas. A warm quesadilla de flor de calabaza is a typical breakfast food here and a personal favorite of mine: a corn or flour tortilla stuffed with melted strands of Oaxacan cheese and a sauté of zucchini flower, onion and the Mexican herb epazote. This one's for trying at home!

Ingredients
1 bunch fresh zucchini flowers
1/4 c. onion, diced
6-8 epazote leaves, minced
2 tblsp. olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
8 oz. Oaxaca-style cheese, pulled in thin strands
Corn or flour tortillas

Start by separating each zucchini flower from its stem and stamen (best accomplished by gently pulling the petal at its base; it should separate without breaking). Then rinse. In a pan, saute the onion in the oil until transluscent, then add the flowers and epazote. Cook over low heat for two minutes or until the flowers begin to wilt (but not fall apart).

Heat the tortillas on a griddle. When soft, add the cheese and a tablespoon of the flower filling. If the tortilla is large, fold in half; if it is a smaller corn tortilla, cover with a second tortilla. In both cases, cook until cheese is thoroughly melted and the faces are slightly toasted.

Final note: In theory, any kind of good melting cheese could make this recipe work, but the delicate flavor of Oaxacan cheese, also known as quesillo (in case you have a Mexican market nearby), is ideal with the zucchini flowers. And if you can't find epazote, although the flavor is really unique, you might experiment with basil.

Enjoy!