Late August… and hopefully, your garden is producing all that you imagined it would. Great! Unless you notice neighbors and friends avoiding you so you don’t unload those enormous and not-so-tasty vegetables… Like zucchinis that would have tasted better if they were picked a week or two ago. Big giant zucchinis are fun to marvel at but not so good to eat as younger more tender ones.
No worries. Here’s one way to handle giant zucchini: Make fritters. These are delicious, fast, savory, and a good side with many dishes. We enjoyed ours with a homemade chicken vegetable soup for a satisfying dinner. Try them with a white fish if you’re lucky enough to have access to something fresh and local, a light and simple chicken dish, or even for breakfast (no maple syrup needed). A food processor makes this much easier and faster. This recipe makes enough to serve four as a side dish.
Sure, you can bake zucchini bread, chocolate zucchini cake, and all sorts of zucchini sweets.. but this is easy and it keeps you out of too-much-sugar territory.
Zucchini Fritters
6 cups shredded zucchini
1 TBSP minced scallion (optional)
3 teaspoons sea salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup gluten free flour of choice (try half coconut flour + half almond flour, or half almond flour + half Hagman Blend)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
black pepper
1 TBSP ghee + 1 TBSP coconut oil
Overgrown zucchini work well. Slice in half lengthwise and use an ice cream scoop or melon scoop to remove seeds. Trim off ends, stems, or blemishes. Cut into chunks that can fit into a food processor, using the shredder blade. You can also use a box grater but this will take a good bit longer. Grate/shred the zucchini and set in a large bowl. Add the salt and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set aside for ten minutes.
Whisk the eggs, then add the flour and whisk together until smooth with the cayenne. Set aside.
Use a strainer or cheesecloth to press the water out of the zucchini after ten minutes have passed. Return to bowl. Add the egg and flour mixture, and stir in the minced scallion if you are including it. Mix thoroughly.
Heat skillet to medium high and add the ghee and coconut oil. Drop about 1/4 cup of fritter batter onto the skillet, at about 1/2 inch thick. Brown on both sides, serve warm.