Love zucchini, but the bumper crop in my garden had me struggling what to do with it all without getting sick of eating it daily. Enter these cakes inspired by a recipe from Paula Dean's repertoire, and who , admittedly, needed much adapting for my tastes as she seems to put a stick of butter in everything and uses lots of store bought pre-made ingredients. Yuck.
In a medium pan, add the the cooking oil to be about 3/4 of the way up the thickness of your cakes. Heat to medium high heat, you don;t want the outside to brown too quickly leaving the inside uncooked. Cook 3 to 4 minutes per side or until browned. Remove with slotted spoon and let drain on paper towel.
Serve with tomato dipping sauce, or a yoghurt/sour cream mint sauce.
- 3-4 medium zucchinis
- 1 cup bread crumbs-ideally used home made
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese
- 1/3 cup finely chopped onion or minced shallot
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- fresh tarragon or dill, or both. Or oregano. Whatever fresh herb you like and/or have handy. Used dried if you must.
- sea salt to taste
- good twists of ground black pepper mill
- frying oil. I sued Safflower but Canola would work as would olive oil but it may be a heavy flavor.
Grate zucchini leave in a colander over a bowl to collect the water for a few hours or overnight. I also put a heavy stone on top to squeeze it out, or you can just press it down. Don't be shy.
In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini with the rest of the ingredients. Shape mixture into patties, not too thick as you want to make sure they cook through, about one inch thick tops. In a medium pan, add the the cooking oil to be about 3/4 of the way up the thickness of your cakes. Heat to medium high heat, you don;t want the outside to brown too quickly leaving the inside uncooked. Cook 3 to 4 minutes per side or until browned. Remove with slotted spoon and let drain on paper towel.
Serve with tomato dipping sauce, or a yoghurt/sour cream mint sauce.
