Homely Zucchini Fritters
A few weekends ago I met a Homely Zucchini.
The Homely Zucchini
He was lying by himself on a table at the Ambleside Farmers Market, next to an artistic pile of slender, tender pin-up girl zucchinis. He wasn’t quite symmetrical. His green skin had faded to a sickly yellow on one side and he had a large gash on his forehead. He looked awkward next to the others and I imagined he’d spent the day trying to approach one of the girl zucchinis and had decided against it. Feeling sorry for him, I brought him home. Since then he’s been sitting on the bottom shelf of my fridge, looking homelier by the week. I’ve been rather unsure as to what exactly to do with him. Too big to stuff elegantly. Past his prime to even roast.
So I decided he should be grated and elevated into Homely Zucchini Fritters.
{RECIPE} ZUCCHINI FRITTERS
There are lots of colourful and creative zucchini fritter recipes out there, but I like mine simple. This adaptation of Ina Garten’s recipe makes zucchini fritters that are crisp on the outside and light on the inside, with just a sprinkling of shallots, salt and pepper for flavour.
{MAKES} 8-10 fritters, enough for 2 hungry people or 4 as a side
{INGREDIENTS}
2 C grated zucchini, (approximately 1 large Homely Zucchini or 2 medium zucchinis)
1 TB salt (for salting zucchini)
6 TB flour
3 TB finely diced shallots (or onion or scallions)
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
generous grinding of pepper
a few splashes of olive oil for pan frying
{DIRECTIONS}
one. Coarsely grate the zucchini into a large colander placed in a large mixing bowl.
two. Sprinkle zucchini with 1 TB of salt and mix. Set aside for 10 minutes (or as long as overnight), and squeeze out the excess water. (I do this by placing a smaller bowl into the colander over top of the zucchini mixture, then pressing down on the smaller bowl to squeeze out the water.)
three. In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, remaining salt and pepper. Add the flour mixture into the grated zucchini and mix well.
four. Then stir in the eggs and finely diced shallots, The resulting mixture will be wet. (Unless you like your zucchini fritters doughy, resist the urge to add more flour. Have faith, the fritters will hold together.)
five. Over medium high, heat a frying pan and add a few splashes of olive oil. Pan fry fritters in batches.Using a regular soup spoon, scoop approximately 2 TB of the mixture into the pan. Flatten each pancake with the back of your spoon.
six. Pan fry until golden brown on each side, about 4-6 minutes.
seven. Serve immediately, with a squirt of lemon or a dollop of yogurt for breakfast, a light lunch or as a side for dinner.
{INSPIRED BY}
Ina Garten’s Zucchini Fritters Recipe from Barefoot Contessa at Home.
