How to cook up a storm with courgette flowers, the most delicate summer blossoms

Courgette carpaccio with burrata

Ingredients

• As many courgettes as you like (and their flowers)
• One ball of burrata
• Olive oil
• One lemon
• Sea salt
• A handful of basil

Method

Shave a small courgette into delicate, thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler and season with sea salt and a squeeze of lemon. Set aside to soften.

Set a burrata ball on a serving plate, gently tearing open the centre so the cream spills and then drape it with the courgette ribbons and scatter with torn courgette flowers (stamens removed).

Add basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and seasoning. Serve immediately.

Courgette-flower galette with brown-butter ricotta

Ingredients (serves 4–6)

For the dough

• 125g unsalted butter, cubed and cold
• 150g plain flour
• 50g rye or wholemeal flour
• 1tspn sea salt
• 1tspn apple cider vinegar
• 2–3tbspn cold water

For the filling

• 30g unsalted butter
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 2 anchovy fillets, mashed
• 150g ricotta, drained
• 50g Parmesan, finely grated
• 1 lemon, zest of
• 8 courgette flowers
• 3 small courgettes, green and yellow ones, ideally
• 1 egg, beaten
• Fresh basil
• 30g pine nuts, lightly toasted
• Bottarga cured fish roe, available online (optional)

Method

With your fingertips, rub the butter into the flours and salt until the mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the vinegar, plus cold water as needed, and gradually bring the dough together. Flatten into a disc, wrap with clingfilm and chill for an hour.

To make the filling, brown the butter in a pan over a medium heat until brown flecks appear. Remove from the heat and add the garlic and anchovies, letting them melt in the heat. Cool to room temperature and beat in the ricotta, Parmesan and lemon zest. Season with pepper, but taste to see if salt is needed.

Open four of the courgette flowers and remove the stamens before piping a little ricotta mix into each. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 180˚C fan/200˚C/400˚F/gas mark 6. 5 Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out to the thickness of a £1 coin (about 3mm). Roll it to 30cm (12in) diameter and transfer to a lined baking sheet.

Spread the rest of the ricotta mix onto the dough, leaving a 4cm (1½in) border. Finely slice or use a mandolin to slice the courgettes into coins and arrange these in a shingled spiral design. Nestle the stuffed flowers into the spiral and fan the unstuffed flowers in between them. Fold in the dough edge and pleat it all around. Brush the edges with egg and bake for 35 minutes or until the edges are golden and the base crisp.

Serve the warm galette scattered with basil and toasted pine nuts, and grate over more lemon zest and the bottarga, if using. A lightly dressed salad will complete this summery lunch.

This feature originally appeared in the July 29, 2026, print edition of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.