Stuffed courgette flowers with olive dressing

• green olives↗small handful of

  pitted and chopped

• tomatoes↗2 ripe

  deseeded and diced

• white wine vinegar↗1 tbsp tbsp
• extra virgin olive oil↗3 tbsp tbsp
• basil↗small bunch of

  thinly sliced

• plain flour↗100g g
• cornflour↗100g g
• cold sparkling water↗200ml ml
• mozzarella↗2 x 150g balls
• courgette flowers↗12
• sunflower oil↗

  for deep-frying

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   For the dressing, combine the olives, tomatoes and vinegar with seasoning, and enough of the oil to bind. Set aside, then add the basil just before serving.

2. 2

   Sift the flours with a pinch of salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the sparkling water and stir to combine. Do not overbeat – it should be just combined and can have a few lumps.

3. 3

   Drain and pat the mozzarella balls dry, tear into small pieces, then season. To stuff the flowers, open the petals, put in some mozzarella, then gently twist the petals to re-seal them.

4. 4

   Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan until a cube of bread dropped in browns in 20 seconds. Drop the flowers into the batter, then remove, shaking off any excess. Fry in batches of two or three until lightly golden. Drain on kitchen paper and season with salt. Keep warm in a low oven as you cook the rest. Pile onto a platter and drizzle with the dressing.