Stuffed courgette blossoms with herbs and rice (served with Feta cheese dressing)

Courgette blossoms is a very tasty Summer delicacy. A lot of people have them as an appetizer but it could easily be considered as a light main course. There are various versions of the dish. The vegetarian version stuffed with herbs and rice, the one with ground meat and the one stuffed with various cheeses and then fried. That definitely is an appetizer. They can be cooked in the pot or in the oven or fried, depending on the filling you will use. You can find courgette blossoms at the veggie market if you don't have any in your garden. Whatever the case make sure that you get the blossoms very early in the morning while they are still open

Ingredients (for 20-25 pieces):
20-25 fresh courgette blossoms
300gr. of long grain rice (or arborio rice)
1 medium onion, grated
1 small courgette, washed and finely grated
3 ripe tomatoes, grated
1/2 a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 a bunch of fresh spearmint, finely chopped
1/2 a bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
salt
black pepper
2 tsp of olive oil
240ml of water
60ml of olive oil

For the feta cheese dressing (optional):
200gr. of Feta cheese, crumbled
100gr. of thick Greek yoghurt
1 clove of garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp of the stock the courgettes cooked in
1 tbsp of chives, finely chopped
salt
pepper

Method:
Rinse the blossoms individually and remove, using a sharp knife, any external green leaves, the internal pistil and stamen and the stems. Do all this very carefully so not to tear the blossoms. When you have finished with the cleaning, put the bottom of each blossom into the opening of the next one to prevent from closing. Put them in a colander to drain thoroughly. When they are ready gently pat dry with kitchen paper.

In a large bowl put together the rice, the grated courgette, the onion, the tomatoes, the parsley, the dill, the spearmint, the garlic, the 2 tsp of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

Using a small spoon (or your hands) carefully fill each blossom with 1 tsp of the mixture. Fold the open end of the blossom inwards and turn underneath. Place each blossom in a deep and wide pot. Continue in the same way until all the blossoms are filled and arranged tightly in a single layer in the pot.

Add in the pot the water and the olive oil. Put on medium-low heat and cook for 30-35 minutes. When ready take off the heat.

*** If you want to serve them with the dressing, put in a large bowl the feta cheese along with the yoghurt and the garlic and stir thoroughly until you get a smooth but rather coarse mixture. Add 1 tbsp of the stock from the pot while stirring all the time with a wooden spoon. Depending on how thick you want the dressing, add the other tbsp of the stock or not. Finally add the chives, taste to see if more salt and pepper are needed and stir well.

Serve the courgette blossoms on a large serving plate, pour over with some dressing and serve at room temperature.