Zucchini Fritters

My husband is out of town this week, which means I didn't really plan a menu.  Which is terrible because it's not like I only cook for him.  But I figured I'd take a break and give the kids a week of all the stuff they really love.   Like breakfast for dinner one night.  And make our own pizza another night.  And we went out to dinner one night.

I had planned to make Italian Sausage Soup one night since that is always a big hit in my house. But I never did make it because we were too busy winging it.  So, I had some extra zucchini lying around and decided to make myself a little snack one afternoon.  These zucchini fritters came together so quick that I only wish I'd had more zucchini.   Seems like you could make a large batch of these and freeze them for a snack any time.

I kind of wish I'd had this recipe on hand last week.  With a smaller scoop, these would have made an awesome appetizer.  These would have been a big hit at my husband's birthday dinner.

But speaking of a big hit, my son ate three of these!   My daughter is in a bit of a phase about "green things" right now and wouldn't try it.  But William gobbled them up.

I found the recipe on smitten kitchen.  She called for scallions in her, which I didn't have so I just skipped.  I did think scallions would be a nice addition, or even some diced and softened white onion.  She also made a lemon sour cream to put on top.   I love lemon, so I did not hesitate to follow that detail.  It really made a huge impact.   I think next time I'm going to throw some lemon zest into the fritter batter, too.

Of course, these can be made with any squash.  I'd been meaning to make spaghetti squash fritters all summer, but never got around to roasting a spaghetti squash.  (Shame on me, I bought one and it went bad on my counter!)  What I loved about this recipe was that the zucchini didn't require any pre-cooking.

The recipe below made about seven fritters in a 2" diameter.  Next time I will be doubling the recipe for sure!   These will be a lovely accompaniment to a salad and a glass of wine in the summer months.

Zucchini Fritters with Lemon Sour Cream
ever so slightly adapted from smitten kitchen

For the fritters
2 medium zucchini
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 large egg, lightly beaten
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
oil (I used canola)

Trim the ends off the zucchini and grate them on the holes of a large box grater.   You could use the shredding blade of a food processor.  But I was in the mood for a quick snack, not a huge mess to clean.  So I used my flat grater set over a bowl.

I shredded the zucchini into a large bowl, then tossed it with 1 teaspoon of salt.  The salt extracts any excess moisture in the zucchini.  You can leave it to sit for 10-15 minutes.  Or you can do what I did, and leave it to sit while you head out to preschool pick up.   Once I got back home, I transferred the zucchini to a colander and used my hands to squeeze out the moisture and returned it to the bowl.

You can add more salt at this point, if you'd like, which I did.  Stir in the eggs and black pepper (and lemon zest at this point if you're using it).  Add the flour and baking powder and stir to combine.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Use a spring loaded ice cream scoop and add mixture to the oil.  Use a small fork to spread the fritter out and flatten them a bit.  Cook until browned, about 3-4 minutes.  Flip them over and cook on the other side, 2-3 minutes.   When cooked, transfer to a paper towel lined plate to absorb and excess oil.   You can hold the fritters in your oven (or toaster oven, if you're looking to not make a big production out of these) while you prepare the remaining fritters.

For the Lemon Sour Cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
zest of half a lemon
pinch of kosher salt

Combine the sour cream and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Just before serving, top the fritters with the sour cream, lemon zest and a small sprinkle of kosher salt.