The absolute freshness of the miniature marrow flowers is foundamental to get good results. This means that it is a seasonal dish that you can only enjoy in the spring or summer months, whether you have a good fortune of growing your own vegetables or have to turn to the greengrocer.

Carefully remove the pistil and the small, green, external leaves. Prepare a batter in the following way: lightly beat the egg with a pinch of salt, add the flour and whisk to remove all lumps. Now add water until a homogeneous, fairly liquid mixture is obtained. Set the batter aside to rest for about 30 minutes.

Dip the cougettes flowers into the batter, taking care to hold the flowers upside down for a moment to let the surplus drain off. Deep fry in boiling oil, turning them over cautiously with the aid of 2 forks. It is essential to serve them crisp and piping hot.

A popular variation in preparing the batter comonly followed in restaurants big and small, consiste in using just the white of the egg and not the whole egg. In this way, the batter is frothier and creates a spectacular effect by forming a kind of "cobweb" over the fries (a similar result can be obtained by adding half a glass of ale to the water).