Zucchini Fritters ♥ Recipe

Ooo-la-la, now here's something special! It's a classic zucchini fritter, you know, just grated zucchini held together with a little egg and flour. But what pushes the Zucchini Fritters over the top is a little bit of lemon zest and get this, a dried chile in the oil that adds just a tiny touch of heat to the fritters. What a great technique! Low Carb. Weight Watchers friendly, just PointsPlus 3.

~recipe updated from the Recipe Box, first posted 2008!~
~more recently updated recipes~

Waste Not. Want Not. Welcome to "zucchini week" here on A Veggie Venture, a serious attempt to keep up with baseball-sized summer squash that appear overnight on my kitchen counter. Without real effort, their next stop would be compost, especially because the big and dense zucchini can't be used with just any recipe. In addition, after being obsessed with baking all summer long, all of a sudden, turning on the oven is dead last on a long list of cooking ideas.

This is the first time I've made fritters! At least with vegetables, a fritter implies a grated vegetable, bound together into a thin pancake, then fried until crisp in a skillet, though some times baked too. This is comfort food country-style, cheap eats, supper on a budget. They're substantial enough to make an entire meal or could be paired with grilled meat.

ZUCCHINI FRITTERS

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 45 minutes
Makes 8 good-sized fritters

1 pound zucchini, peeled if skins are tough, halved, seeds scooped out (for large zucchini only), grated

2 large eggs
Zest of a lemon
1 small onion, chopped fine (about 1/4 cup)
Fresh basil, chopped fine
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pepper to taste

Olive oil
1 dried chili pepper

Line a colander with a paper towel, add the grated zucchini; top with another paper towel and press lightly. Let drain for about 30 minutes.

Whisk together eggs, zest, onion, basil, flour, salt and pepper. Gently fold in zucchini.

Heat a heavy, non-stick skillet such as well-seasoned cast iron on MEDIUM HIGH. Add oil and chili pepper, let warm though. (The oil is hot enough when it sizzles when you flick a little water off your fingertips into the oil.) Drop heaping spoons of the fritter batter into the skillet, flatten a bit with the back of the spoon, smooth the edges if needed. Let cook until brown and very crispy, turn over and repeat.

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
The large garden-huge zucchini I used cast off virtually no liquid during the draining stage so next time, I might gauge whether or not the draining step is required. Smaller zucchini, however, likely would require draining. But if you're in a rush, just give the zucchini a good, hard squeeze. Some times they release a lot of liquid (especially if you let them rest with a sprinkle of salt) but other times? Not so much.
I cook half the mixture one evening, the remainder the next with no ill effect. Once, I made them for breakfast with fried eggs on top, gorgeous!
No dried chili peppers on hand? Skip entirely or mince a small hot pepper for the fritter batter.
If needed, warm an oven to 300F to keep these warm for serving.
I like to serve these with sour cream, applesauce or for something more savory, a 1:1 mix of Greek yogurt and buttermilk with a little grated garlic. Gorgeous!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Fritter, assumes 4 tablespoons oil for cooking the fritters: 116 Calories; 8g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 52mg Cholesterol; 168mg Sodium; 8g Carb; 1g Fiber; 1g Sugar; 3g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS: WW Old Points 3 & WW PointsPlus 3

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MORE FAVORITE SIMPLE ZUCCHINI RECIPES

~ Fried Zucchini Sticks vs Baked Zucchini Sticks ~
~ Zucchini with Tomatoes & Cheddar ~
~ Feta-Stuffed Zucchini ~
~ more summer squash recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Zucchini Spiral "Noodle" Salad ~
~ Carrot & Zucchini Bread ~
~ Mediterranean Eggplant ~
~ more summer squash recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

COOKING IN SEASON: THIS SAME WEEK ACROSS THE YEARS

Broiled Tomatoes with Oregano New Potatoes with Fresh Herbs Lavender Potatoes Tomato Cocktail Yellow Squash Soup with Spinach: Early Autumn Leaves in Soup Slow-Roasted Tomato Soup Garlicky Romano Beans Fresh Crowder Peas Chard & Chickpeas with Feta Eight-Ball Stuffed Zucchini Fresh Tomato & Basil Stuffed Peppers Zucchini Fritters Quick Pattypan Squash Perfect Stovetop Brown Rice Swiss Chard Skillet Supper with Tomatoes, Corn, Fresh Dill & Feta (< hello Meatless Monday!) Creamy Cucumber-Tomato Salsa (< Pinterest loves it!) Twice-Roasted Beets with Red Grapes, Cherries, Blueberries & Avocado Feta Cream (< dreamy good!)

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
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