Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini season may be over, but we can usually find decent looking ones in the fall around here. Sorry for not eating exactly seasonally, but you know what is perfectly fall-appropriate? A big bowl of soup! And what perfectly accompanies a nice big bowl of soup? Zucchini fritters. So in a roundabout way, zucchini fritters = fall food? Ok, maybe not, but we enjoyed them tonight anyway.

It’s easy to think of zucchini as a boring vegetable, zoodles excluded. (All the cool kids eat zoodles now ok? Including us – see “Chicken Lo Mein” Zoodles, Zoodles with Roasted Chickpeas, Caliente Chicken & Zoodles, French Onion Chicken Zoodles, & Mediterranean Cucumber-Zoodle Salad) They get mushy when you bake or sautee them too long, and no one likes mushy vegetables. Fritters are a lot easier to make than you think. Start to finish, less than 30 minutes, and you end up with a delicious side dish to any main course – we chose soup, but these would go great with roasted chicken or turkey. Try changing up the spices and herbs and see what you like best. This combo – onion, garlic, paprika, chili powder – isn’t spicy or overwhelming, but makes for a great dish with nice flavor.

Note: They way we made these, they’re browned and slightly crispy on the outside, but remain soft on the inside and a bit fragile. That’s because we wanted these to stay vegetable-heavy and to save a few calories. If you’d like a less fragile fritter, use more flour and/or bread crumbs and an additional egg to bind the mixture together more tightly.

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients: 

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp granulated onion
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• Salt & pepper
• 3 tbsp neutral oil

Instructions: 

1. Grate the zucchinis into a large bowl.
2. Sprinkle with salt and allow to sit for 10+ minutes.
3. Squeeze water out from the zucchini (you’ll be amazed at how much water you can get rid of!)
4. Whisk up the egg and stir that in with the zucchini, along with all of the rest of the ingredients (using just a pinch of additional salt and a few grinds of black pepper), except for the oil.
5. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
6. Once oil is hot, form balls of the zucchini mixture in your hands, slightly smaller than the palm of your hand. Smush them into patties and drop into the hot oil.
7. Fry on each side for 2-3 minutes until browned on both sides.
8. Remove from pan to a paper-towel lined dish before serving to soak up a bit of the excess oil.

Makes 6 fritters