Excellent in batter, delicious in the oven, versatile with pasta: the courgette flowers they are a real delicacy in the kitchen and are popular with young and old.
Thanks to their delicate taste, they marry in fact with many dishes and have various useful features for our health.
We deepen them with Valentina Bolli, dietician, who explains in detail why they are healthy and suggests how to prepare them to best enjoy them with an eye to lightness.
Excellent source of hydration
Bolli warns "Primarily they contain a very high percentage ofwater about 94% "therefore represent a good source of hydration for our body and for this reason they are very suitable for summer season, in which our body most needs water and minerals.
Good iron content
As for minerals, compared to other vegetables, says the dietician "they boast a significant amount of iron, or 2 mg. per 100 g of flowers, which is a very important mineral for transporting oxygen in the blood and maintaining the proper functioning of the immune system. Obviously we are talking about a comparison with other vegetables, proteins of animal origin always remain the best in terms of richness and bioavailability ".
They also have a quantity of football (39 mg vs. 21 of zucchini) better than zucchini, which is very important for healthy teeth and bones.
Benefits for skin and eyesight
Pumpkin flowers also contain a significant amount of vitamin A, or 252 mg per 100 grams (unlike courgettes that do not have the same characteristic).
Vitamin A protects Skin and the cell membranes, but also preserves the view (like tomato). Thanks to the content of carotenoids, has a powerful antioxidant and anti-aging action.
They are low in calories
Finally, adds Bolli "The interesting aspect is that I am low calorie (12 calories per 100 g) and which, combined for example with other vegetables, such as courgettes, carbohydrates and proteins, represent a complete dish ".
Not just in batter
In addition to the well-known batter version, which is certainly the most delicious but also the most caloric, they lend themselves well in many other preparations in the kitchen.
"With the pasta for example, accompanied by the right amount of Parmesan Cheese (50 g per person) are a perfect dish from a nutritional point of view ". Or they can be cooked in the oven, in a thousand appetizing and captivating ways. Suggest stamps “They can be stuffed for example with ricotta, which is a low-fat cheese, with the filling of the same zucchini and enriched with aromatic herbs, or even with meat.
In this case they go, combined with carbohydrates, they represent a tasty and inviting second course.
If you can't resist frying
If, on the other hand, you allow yourself a sin of gluttony and you prefer the fried version, it is good to follow some makeup to make them lighter.
Suggest stamps "It is important, for example, to use a oil with a good smoke point, such as that of peanuts, changing it every time and dry the courgette flowers when they are cooked to remove excess oil ".
Alternatively, one can also be used lighter batter.
“You can take inspiration for example from Tempura, the famous Japanese fry and prepare one light batter, with rice flour, also suitable for celiac and sparkling water to add ice. In this way, however, they are greedy but a little lighter. "
Elisa Nata
June 2018
updated August 2019
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