Savoury Flowers

Hello foodies,

I don't know about you, but personally, I always feel like I make the same snacks whenever I have guests over.

So here's a recipe that's a little different and will be perfect for an aperitif. :o)

Savoury vegetable flowers (leeks, zucchini, carrots and potatoes).

Here is the list of ingredients for 16 flowers (7 cm each):

- 130gr of carrots

- 100gr of firm potatoes

- 130gr of zucchini

- 130gr of leeks

- 130gr of wholemeal flour

- 2 eggs

- 160gr of whole milk

- 1 tsp of baking powder

- 1 tsp of salt

- 10 turns of the pepper mill

- 50gr of grated Gruyère

- 2 mini flower moulds

Cake Batter

Start by peeling 130gr of carrots and 100gr of potatoes.

Then grate them together using a fairly fine grater. Here I used my Kitchenaid attachment, but any grater will work just fine.

Keep these two ingredients in a bowl.

In another bowl, grate 130gr of zucchini (unpeeled) with the same grater used for the carrots and potatoes.

Then cut 130gr of leeks in half, then into 0.5 cm strips. Add the leeks to the zucchini.

Grab a frying pan and heat a drizzle of rapeseed oil.

Once the oil is hot, add the carrot/potato mixture and sauté for 5-6 minutes over medium heat, stirring continuously.

After 5 minutes, set the mixture aside in a bowl.

In the same pan, sauté the leeks and zucchini for 3-4 minutes, stirring over medium heat.

Once the leeks and zucchini are cooked, add the mixture to the carrots and potatoes.

Mix everything together and set the mixture in the fridge while you prepare the rest.

In a large bowl, add 130gr of wholemeal flour.

Add 2 eggs and mix these two ingredients well using a whisk.

Then pour 160gr of whole milk over the flour/egg mixture and mix again.

Then add 1 tsp of baking powder and mix once more.

Continue by folding in the previously cooked vegetable mixture and mix gently — either with a whisk or a spatula.

Finally, add 1 tsp of salt and 10 turns of the pepper mill (to taste).

Mix everything one last time to obtain a smooth, homogeneous batter.

Preheat your oven to 180°C, fan-assisted.

For this recipe I used the mini flower mould which I find very pretty. :-)

I recommend using two moulds. This way, you'll only need two baking rounds to make 16 flowers.

You can of course make this recipe in another mould, depending on your preferences or what you have in your cupboards. :o)

Always make sure to use metal moulds, to achieve a lovely golden colour and a crispy finish straight from the oven.

Now, spray your moulds with release spray, so nothing sticks when unmoulding. ;-)

Using a tablespoon, fill the cavities with the cake batter.

Then sprinkle 2-3gr of grated Gruyère over each cavity. You will use approximately 50gr of Gruyère in total.

As mentioned above, the amount of batter will give you approximately 16 flowers — either three baking rounds (with one mould) or two baking rounds (with two moulds). You can of course keep the batter at room temperature while the first flowers are baking.

Bake your flowers in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes at 180°C, fan-assisted.

Once the 25 minutes are up, the flowers will be nicely golden. Unmould them and let them cool on a cooling rack.

I recommend spraying your mould with release spray between each baking round, to make sure the flowers don't stick when unmoulding.

And there you have it — our flowers are ready to enjoy! You can eat them warm or cold without any problem. :-)

They will keep for 2 days in a well-sealed container.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and give it a try at your next aperitif.

Wishing you a lovely Sunday, foodies.

Sophie

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.