• ZUCCHINI FRITTERS I’ve been staring at these for...

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I’ve been staring at these for weeks on Smitten Kitchen, drooling with lust but not moving from my couch. I finally made them today with the help of my cousin and dad, and the whole house loved them. They are extremely easy to make, and the only unhealthy bit comes with the oil in the frying pan. Next time I’m going to try cooking them with less oil for the health factor. I hear these are great for kids, since they taste a lot like potatoes once cooked.

Yield: About 10 2 1/2 inch fritters
Note: I skipped the baking part and served the fritters directly from the frying pan. I included the baking instructions in case you want to try them the original way.

Ingredients:

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini
1 teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste
2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying

Dipping sauce (optional but highly recommended):

1 cup sour cream or plain, full-fat yogurt
1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinches of salt
1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Have a baking sheet ready.
2. Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a box grater or using the shredding blade of a food processor.
3. In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes.
4. While waiting, make the topping. Stir together the sour cream, lemon juice, zest, salt and garlic and adjust the flavors to your taste.
5. Wring out the zucchini in one of the following ways: pressing it against the holes of a colander with a wooden spoon to extract the water, squeezing out small handfuls at a time, or wrapping it up in a clean dishtowel or piece of cheese cloth and wringing away. A ton of liquid will come out, and this will keep the fritters from getting soggy.
6. Return zucchini shreds to bowl. Taste if you need more salt (most rinses down the drain), add if needed. Stir in scallions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a tiny dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.
7. In a large heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet only a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula. Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned underneath again, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
8. Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to baking sheet and then into the warm oven until needed. Repeat process, keeping the pan well-oiled, with remaining batter. Putting them in the oven helps them to finish setting and get crisper.
9. Put sauce on each fritter before serving.

Make ahead: These fritters keep well, either chilled in the fridge for the better part of a week and or frozen in a well-sealed package for months. When you’re ready to use them, simply spread them out on a tray in a 325 degree oven until they’re hot and crisp again.