Stuffed Squash Blossoms

I've always loved stuffed squash blossoms - I order them every chance I get, which is usually far and few between - but never seriously considered making them myself until I was wandering through a farmer's market and lo and behold, apparently it is blossom season because every other stand seemed to have bunches of them for sale. With such an opportunity literally at my fingertips, I immediately looked up some baked-versions of the recipe to see if it was something I could do on short notice.

As with most cooking, the filling is really up to a person's taste, and so I threw together a mish-mash of my favorite flavors. It's somewhat of a novelty to be able to taste-test before baking - I kept forgetting that I didn't have to guesstimate what to put in, I could immediately test whether the flavor's just right.

• 1 dozen large blossoms or 2 dozen small ones

Filling:

• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 large heads of garlic
• 1 lemon (juice and zest the peel)
• salt, pepper, and spice to taste (garlic powder, thyme, parsley, etc)

Crust:

• 2 eggs
• panko or breadcrumbs

Dip (optional):

• pesto
• vinegar glaze

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1. Roast the garlic: If you're not using pre-roasted garlic, set an oven or toaster to 400 F. Peel off all the papery outer layers of the garlic head. Cut off the tops of the individual cloves, leaving them exposed. Set them on a sheet of aluminum foil, then drizzle olive oil over them, making sure that all the exposed areas of the cloves have been covered. Fold the foil over the garlic heads, then set them in the toaster for 40-50 minutes, until the cloves are very soft and easily mashable.
2. While the garlic is toasting, prepare the blossoms. Use a knife to make a slit down one side of each blossom to the base. Reach inside and pinch off and discard the anther. Rinse the blossoms and lay on a paper towel to dry.
3. Once the garlic is done, pinch out each clove, roughly mash, and mix with the ricotta. If you really like to emphasize the garlic flavor, add a dash of garlic powder. Zest the lemon and mix both the zest and the lemon's juice into the ricotta. Salt, pepper, and spice to taste.
4. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set the oven to 400 F.
5. Lightly beat the eggs in one dish, and pour the panko or breadcrumbs in another dish for dipping. Stuff each blossom with a portion of the filling, carefully close the blossom and twist the petal ends together, then roll it into the egg, then the crumbs to coat. Spread the finished stuffed blossoms out on the baking sheet.
6. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the crumbs are golden brown. Keep an eye on them - do not let them burn.
7. I like to serve these with some pesto and a few drops of vinegar glaze.

Note: The lemon juice really helped to brighten up the taste of the garlic and ricotta. I was surprised by the difference - I would definitely add a lemon to every filling variation of this I make.