🌼 Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms with Rice – Samian Style

🌿 A light summer flavour from the garden

Zucchini blossoms stuffed with rice are a delicate, aromatic dish that makes use of fresh zucchini flowers at their most tender stage.

The filling combines rice with onion, spring onions, grated zucchini and carrot, while dill or fennel and mint add fresh summer aromas.

The stuffed blossoms are slowly cooked with tomato and vegetable stock, then finished with plenty of lemon, which gives the dish its characteristic freshness.

👨‍🍳 Method

1. Prepare the vegetables

Finely chop the dry onion and spring onions.

Grate the zucchini and carrot using the coarse side of a grater.

Finely chop the dill or fennel and the mint leaves.

2. Sauté the filling

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan.

Add the onion, spring onions, carrot and grated zucchini.

Sauté for a few minutes over medium heat until the vegetables soften slightly without taking on too much colour.

3. Add the rice

Add the rice and stir for about 1–2 minutes, until the grains become glossy and are coated with olive oil.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Add the dill or fennel, mint, salt, pepper and about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Mix well and allow the filling to cool slightly.

4. Clean the blossoms

Rinse the zucchini blossoms very carefully.

Gently open each flower and remove the inner stamen without tearing the petals.

Leave them to drain on a clean kitchen towel.

5. Stuff the blossoms

Hold each blossom carefully in your hand and spoon a little filling inside.

Fill them only to just below halfway, as the rice will expand during cooking.

Fold the petals towards the centre to close the blossom over the filling.

6. Arrange in the pot

Place the stuffed blossoms in a wide, shallow pot, close to one another.

Arrange them with the folded side facing down so they remain closed during cooking.

Do not pack them too tightly, but make sure they support one another.

7. Add tomato and stock

Pour the grated tomato over the blossoms.

Add the vegetable stock, a little salt and freshly ground pepper.

The liquid should come fairly high up the blossoms without completely covering them.

8. Cook slowly

Place an upside-down plate over the stuffed blossoms to keep them in place.

Cover the pot and cook over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, until the rice is tender and the petals are soft.

9. Finish with lemon

Carefully transfer the blossoms to a serving platter.

Add the remaining lemon juice to the cooking liquid and gently swirl the pot to combine.

Spoon some of the aromatic broth over the stuffed blossoms.

🍋 Lemon, mint and fennel

The flavour of the dish comes from the balance between the mild rice, the natural sweetness of the vegetables and the freshness of the herbs.

Mint adds a cooling aroma, while dill or fennel brings greener Mediterranean notes.

The lemon added at the end brightens the entire dish and keeps the filling light and fresh.

🍽️ Serving

Serve the stuffed zucchini blossoms warm or lukewarm, together with some of their lemony cooking broth.

They are ideal as a starter, a light summer meal or part of a table with vegetable dishes and Samian meze.

A little good bread is all that is needed to soak up the broth with olive oil, tomato and lemon.