Under the Median: Vegan Stuffed Squash Blossoms in the Air Fryer

The 14 year old sous chef and I created this recipe after we bought a dozen squash blossoms at our local farmers' market on Saturday. Neither of us had ever tried them, but I had been getting reader comments asking what to do with them.

A quick Google search revealed that one generally stuffs them with a cream cheese mixture and then fries them in oil. Being a whole foods vegan, both the cheese and the excess oil were problematic for me. However, never one to back down from a challenge, we bought the blossoms and decided to figure out how we could use them to create a visually appealing, special dish, without any added oil or fat.

Their stunning colors are opulent. Each blossom is a perfectly formed, delicate flower. It almost seems a shame to cook them. But, believe me, the taste is so amazing, you will be hooked in an instant and wait with bated breath until they show up again at market next year.

The season for squash blossoms is very limited, as you might imagine, given the fact that if farmers do not pick them, the blossoms soon dry up and in their place you find a baby squash growing.

As the sous chef and I researched and discussed options, it was he who first suggested using hummus as a filling. It has that mouth-round creaminess that you want from a good cream cheese, without all the fat. As I pondered that, it occurred to me that I had a bag of cooked, mixed quinoa in the freezer.

Putting both items together, we wound up mixing together homemade hummus, quinoa, and fresh parsley to create a filling with the perfect texture and flavor.

I quickly abandoned the idea of holding the delicate blossoms open with one hand, while trying to spoon the filling in with the other hand, There was no way that this was going to work. I settled on the God-given cook's tool - my fingers! I was able to pinch a couple of teaspoons of filling between my fingers and gently insert it into the open blossom and then twisting the top shut to hold in the filling.

The final step was to roll each blossom packet in aquafaba and then into almond flour. Pop them in the air fryer at 400 degrees for 16 minutes, turning half way through. You may need to use a spatula to gently pry them off the bottom of the pan. If you want, you could briefly apply a little olive oil or non-stick spray to insure that they don't stick. But, I don't cook with any added oil and was able to manage getting them from the pan.

Serve them with your choice of sauce. We chose dijon mustard with a touch of honey added for sweetness. They were divine! Best served piping hot from the air fryer.

Don't have an air fryer? You could bake them at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, gently turning half way through the cooking time.

What in the world is aquafaba?

For those who don't know, aquafaba is the vegan solution to avoiding the use of egg whites when getting things like flour or breading to stick to items that you want to bake. It works exceedingly well, too! To get some either, buy a can of garbanzo beans and drain the liquid into a bowl (this is aquafaba) or do what I do. Cook a large batch of garbanzo beans in the pressure cooker. Drain off the liquid and keep the aquafaba. It will thicken as it cools into a consistency that is nearly identical to egg whites. Keep in the fridge and use within 2 weeks.

PRO TIP! If you won't use all of your aquafaba within two weeks, simply freeze it in ice cube trays. Pop the aquafaba cubes into a freezer bag and label. It will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. One cube is 2 Tbsp.

Recipe: Vegan Stuffed Squash Blossoms in the Air Fryer

Ingredients:

12 nice sized fresh squash blossoms

Filling:

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (I used a mixture of red and white)

1 cup no-oil hummus (I used my favorite hummus recipe from Get2Droot.com)

1/4 cup finely minced fresh parsley

Breading:

1/2 cup aquafaba

1 cup almond flour

Optional Seasonings for breading:

1 tsp.onion powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Suggested Dipping Sauces:

Honey mustard (we made our own by mixing a little honey into dijon mustard)

Barbecue sauce (We make our own, called Kickin' Tomato sauce, from Get2DRoot.com)

Ketchup

Salsa (We like fruit-based salsas for this dish)

Teriyaki Sauce (Be careful with this one if you are watching sodium.)

Instructions:

If you are using refrigerated or frozen aquafaba, place it in a bowl and let it come to room temperature, so that it isn't too thick to use.

Mix filling ingredients together in a bowl. Beginning with the hummus, add the quinoa a little at a time until a cream cheese like consistency is gained. Gently stir in the finely minced fresh parsley.

Assemble the breading supplies in TWO separate bowls. The aquafaba should be in one bowl and the almond flour in a second bowl. If you'd like to season the almond flour, add the suggested seasonings and stir. We liked it better plain so that we could use the dipping sauce of our choice to create different tastes.

Prepare your work surface like an assembly line. Stuff each blossoms with about a teaspoon of filling, gently packing it so as to not damage the flour. Twist the top of the blossom to close, Coat each by dipping it first into the aquafaba and then roll in the almond flour. Finally, place them in a single layer in the air fryer insert.

Turn the air fryer on to 400 degrees for 16 minutes. After 10 minutes, using a spatula, gently turn each blossom packet over so the other side will brown. Return the air fryer basket and continue cooking for the remainder of the time, checking to insure that they are not over-browning.

Serve with the sauce of your choice. These disappeared like magic from my table! Everyone wanted to know if there was any chance of getting more squash blossoms at market next week.

Hey! Do you want this recipe in a handy, downloadable PDF? No problem! Here you go! Enjoy!