Zucchini Fritters
Friday, May 16, 2014
Have you heard about zucchini noodles, the new on-trend, healthy vegan alternative to carbohydrate-heavy spaghetti? Basically, it's thin strands of long, julienned zucchini, mixed like pasta into a sauce or enjoyed on their own. I've never tried them before, but they seem interesting and would love to give them a try some time soon.These zucchini fritters are like healthy vegetable 'patties', with the slightly-shorter grated zucchini forming the base of a chunky, wholesome batter that is fried (like pancakes!) until crispy and cooked through. Mum bought home a huge pile of zucchinis the other day and they were beginning to look a bit lonely in the fridge, so we thought we'd give these babies a go. They feature heavily on some brunch menus, are healthy and a great way to boost your vegetable intake. Plus, they're tasty too!
We added an extra
egg into the mix which already had one egg in it, because the batter was
looking a little dry. That didn't seem to be the best idea, though, because
when it came to frying the fritters they got a little soggy and never seemed to
cook all the way through. We pressed them down a little bit to get them to cook
faster and even put the lid on them for a while, but in the end they were still
golden flavoursome. We added a can of corn kernels, too, and I loved picking
all the loose, crispy bits off the bottom of the pan. A guilty pleasure...
These fritters are
really good for eating when you're hungry in the afternoon, for breakfast or a
light lunch (just add a salad or some protein) - really for any time you want
to eat but don't feel like having a whole meal. I tried to make them as photogenic
as I could but this is as attractive as they would get!
Recipe
Adapted from taste.com.au recipe here
Makes around 12
fritters
Ingredients:
- 3 Medium Zucchini (around 400g)
- 1/2 cup self-raising flour
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1-2 shallots, finely sliced
- 1 egg, whisked lightly
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped (optional)
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- Pepper, to taste
Method:
- Trim ends of the zucchini and coarsely grate, then place in a colander. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and leave for 15 minutes to draw the moisture out, then pat dry with a piece of paper towel. Alternatively squeeze out as much water as possible. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Mix in self raising flour, Parmesan, shallots, salt, dried oregano, nutmeg, oil, egg and nutmeg and parsley (is using) until combined. Add pepper to taste.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick fry pan over medium-high heat. Drop four 1-2 tablespoons of mixture into the pan and spread out to cook evenly. Cook until golden and crisp, around 2 minutes or perhaps a little longer. Flip and cook until golden on the other side, a further 2 minutes. If need be, flip again until fritters are cooked all the way through. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat, adding 2 tablespoons of oil to each round of zucchini fritters, for the remaining mixture.
- Enjoy!
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