Beer Battered Squash Blossoms With Goat Cheese And Garlic - cooking recipe

Ingredients

cloves from one head roasted garlic, mashed
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces goat cheese (Chevre)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leave, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/3 cups bottled dark beer (341 ml bottle)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra
2 tablespoons melted butter
salt and pepper
16 zucchini or 16 other squash blossoms, pistils removed if desired
vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Preparation

To make the filling:
Combine garlic, olive oil, goat cheese and thyme in a small bowl. Mix until smooth, and season with salt and pepper.
For the blossoms:
In a bowl, whisk together beer and egg. Whisk in 1 cup of the flour and continue adding extra flour, 1 tablesppon at a time, until mixture has the consistency of thin pancake batter, Whisk in butter and season to taste with salt, pepper. Let rest 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a deep heavy pot fitted with with a deep-frying thermometer, heat 1 inch of oil to 375\u00b0. Stuff each blossom with a few tablespoons of the goat cheese mixture, and press petals closed.
Working quickly, in small batches, dip filled blossoms into batter, coating each completely; and fry, turning once, for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Use slotted spoon to transfer blossoms onto paper towels to drain. Make sure the oil returns to 375\u00b0 before adding each new batch of blossoms.
Sprinkle fried blossoms with salt and serve immediately.