Zucchini Fritters

I found this recipe on a night when I knew I wanted to use some zucchini I'd picked up at the farmer's market. I'd purposely chosen some of the larger ones because they were cheaper and could be easily used in a recipe calling for shredded zucchini. I have this "thing" about cooked zucchini: I can only eat it in small chunks, shredded, or grilled. The high water content makes it feel gross in my mouth if it's in large pieces.

Needless to say, I went in to the afternoon planning for the evening meal with "shredded zucchini on my mind. This lovely and so very simple dish is adapted from the Skinny Chef. I've seen other adaptations and ideas on blogs and other sites over the years but viewing a recipe that I was certain I'd like on a site that has "skinny" in its title made me try it.

Zucchini Fritters (adapted from http://www.skinnychef.com/ )

Ingredients
3 C zucchini, shredded

1 egg lightly beaten

1/2 cup grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8-1/4 tsp nutmeg

scant 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions
1. Combine all of the ingredients except for the zucchini in a large bowl.
2. Whisk to form a batter, removing large lumps, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the grated zucchini it to the bowl. The moisture from the zucchini will produce a batter. Use your HANDS in this one. Stirring with a spoon is just not something I normally do. I’m a hands-on chick. Try it. You’ll like it. And the consistency once you add that zucchini? Goopy goodness. If you have kids who won’t fling this stuff around your kitchen, let ‘em get down and dirty with this stuff. They’ll love you as much as my kid does!
4. Use the batter immediately.
5. Heat olive or canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Using a 1/4-cup measure, pour out 3-4 cakes. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Drain on paper towel

Serves 2-4.

Notes:

Moisture: Please believe me when I say you should NOT add any extra moisture to this recipe. When you see how dry and crumbly the batter will be before adding the shredded zucchini, you’ll be hard-pressed to not dump in some water or milk. DO NOT do this.

Mixing: Use your hands. But for all that’s holy, will you PLEASE remember to take off your rings before you do this? I never remember to take off my wedding rings and always get chunks of zucchini and soupy batter stuck under the diamonds. Learn from the error of my ways. Someone should.

Variations:

I’ve doubled the recipe and used ½ Parm and ½ mozzarella with good results. I don’t recommend using a cheese with a high moisture content (fresh mozzarella) because the batter and resulting fritters will likely be very soupy. You want crunch with these babies.Serve hot or at room temperature. These will be great on a buffet because they retain their quality really well. If serving them as an appetizer, I’d recommend using a tablespoon measure for each fritter.

Feedback:

The husband LOVED these things. Loved them. The kid? Not so much. He knew they were “fried” and heard daddy raving about them but wouldn’t touch them. His loss is my gain.