This recipe originally comes from Jacques Pépin. It comes to us by way of Eric Pearson who wrote an essay about harvesting the flowers on a roadside in rural Kentucky.
You can hear Carl Pearson walking through the steps on t his episode of Earth Eats.
Locust Flower Fritters
Ingredients
4 cups locust flowers, stems removed
4 tablespoons Grand Marnier or orange extract
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 can (12 oz.) beer or plain seltzer water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
Peanut oil for deep frying
Confectioner’s sugar, to dust the finished fritters
Instructions
Mix the flowers, Grand Marnier (or orange extract) and sugar together in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
When ready to cook the fritters, place the flour, about two thirds of the seltzer or beer, and the vanilla in a bowl. Mix well with a whisk until the batter is smooth, then add the remainder of the seltzer or beer, and mix well.
In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form peaks but are not too firm. Using a whisk, combine them with the beer batter. Fold in the locust flower mixture.
At serving time, put enough of the oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven so that it is about 1 inch deep in the pan. Heat to 375 degrees. Using a large spoon or a small measuring cup, pour about 1/3 cup of the batter into the hot oil. Repeat, cooking 4 or 5 fritters at a time in the oil. Cook the fritters for about 4 minutes on one side, then turn with tongs, and cook for 4 minutes on the other side. They should be crisp and nicely browned on both sides. You can also use a deep fryer for this.
Lift the fritters from the oil with a slotted spoon, and place them on a wire rack. Repeat, making additional fritters with the remaining batter. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.
Notes: This recipe is practically verbatim from Pepin’s book. The changes we made were with the seltzer and the orange extract, and we used an electric deep fryer instead of a saucepan.
