Is there a better reason to grow zucchini? I haven’t found one.
I’ve been making and perfecting this recipe for years. Hope you enjoy it!
These healthy little gems (okay, except for the frying part) are a great side dish on your summer plate. From your garden, grab a medium zucchini, one medium onion, and a little thyme (optional, it won’t make or break this recipe if you don’t have any). Scoop an egg from your henhouse and choose a cheese from the fridge (I’m using sharp cheddar today but I also love fresh parmesan or fontina. Up to you!)
From your pantry, pull out the flour and my secret ingredient: cornstarch.
Shred the zucchini, onion and cheese separately on a standard cheese grater. The zucchini and cheese can go right in the bowl, but take the onion and let it sit on a paper towel for just a minute and then squeeze out the excess water – you don’t want to water down your fritters.
Drop in the egg and some chopped thyme (again, not required). Add one teaspoon of salt, two tablespoons of flour and two tablespoons of cornstarch. Don’t put the cornstarch away yet! We aren’t done with it. Combine all these ingredients just until the egg is evenly distributed.
Heat your skillet to high heat with a splash of olive oil and once it gets really hot, turn it down to medium high heat. Using a spoon, drop about two tablespoons of the batter in the hot pan and press down with the back of the spoon to make a round fritter shape, about 1/2 inch thick.
Don’t try and make this perfect. Messy is fine!
Now for the little trick. If you haven’t cooked with cornstarch much, you really need to add it to your cooking repertoire. It’s not only a great thickener if you are making soup or pie fillings, but it adds that extra crispy touch to fried foods that flour just can’t seem to manage. Take a few pinches of cornstarch and sprinkle them over the top of the fritters before you flip them over. This results in that extra crunch that makes these feel worth the effort.
Lightly fry them on both sides until golden brown – or as dark as you personally like them. Serve immediately while hot with this simple topping: mix about 3 tablespoons of greek yogurt with one teaspoon of sriracha and a sprinkle of salt. It’s delicious.
Now, that’s one zucchini down and 4000 to go. Ha! Stay tuned for some more good recipes so they don’t go to waste!
Crispy Zucchini Fritters
Equipment
- Cheese grater
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 medium onion
- 1/2 cup cheese, shredded (cheddar, parm, or fontina)
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp thyme, chopped (optional)
- olive oil for frying
Instructions
- shred the zucchini and cheese on a cheese grater and add to bowl
- shred the onion and lay on a paper towel, squeeze out water and add onion shreds to bowl
- add egg
- add flour, cornstarch and salt
- combine ingredients until egg and other ingredients are mixed well
- drop two tablespoons at a time into a hot skillet with a splash of olive oil
- press batter down with back of spoon until semi-round, 1/2 inch discs result.
- sprinkle top of batter with cornstarch lightly before flipping
- serve hot with sriracha sauces (3 tbsp greek yogurt mixed with 1 tsp sriracha and a sprinkle of salt)
These were so good and so easy to make! Corn starch! Who knew??