Zucchini fritters

Every few months for one night, I get in bed and absolutely, positively, cannot for the life of me, fall asleep. I guess some call that insomnia.

I toss and turn, watch the clock get later and later while doing mental math of how many less minutes/hours of sleep I’ll be getting if I fall asleep that very minute and proceed to stress myself out even more as the result of that equation dwindles. My mind races with tomorrow’s to-do list, the stuff that isn’t written down anywhere that still needs to get done (and which I’ll probably therefore end up forgetting) and as the case with this last bout the other night, zucchini fritters.

I lost sleep over zucchini fritters.

This is my life.

Well, that and how in the heck I’m going to accomplish that strict pull-up goal I so boldly put in writing right before attempting to fall asleep. And/or upping my strict press PR by 7 pounds when just 2 seems like a herculean effort.

Important stuff, clearly.

So, I’m participating in this virtual dinner party hosted by Brandy to celebrate the début of Faith’s cookbook that a few of us have received advanced copies of and these zucchini fritters are the chosen appetizer (you’ll get to see an entrée and a dessert coming up in the next 2 weeks too).

You wondering why the heck that would cause sleep loss? Yeah, me too now that I’m fully rested and realize the ridiculousness of it all.

But in my sleep deprived 1am state, the ingredient list haunted me.

You see that picture up there? Minus the oil for frying, that’s pretty much all the recipe calls for. No spices, no additional flavoring, nada. And truth is, I was skeptical.

Faith, I’m sorry.

Never judge a book by it’s cover, never judge a recipe by it’s ingredient list (I know I sure as heck get pissed when people rank my recipes using that little star thingy 5 minutes after it’s posted knowing full well they haven’t made it yet).

I ate them in all their deliciously eggy-zucchini glory for lunch by myself. They’re like part pancake, part hash brown, part frittata. Definitely different than your typical fritter, but a surprisingly fun texture and taste.

I halved the recipe and used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose only because in the horn-toothed beetle infestation of 2012, I forgot I threw out all my regular flour. I also made a kick-ass (if I do say so myself) tahini-yogurt sauce to go with these that I highly recommend. Basically, greek yogurt, lemon juice, tahini, evoo, s&p, parsley, cumin…mix. There will most likely be leftovers of that which is equally delicious mixed into chicken salad the next day in place of mayo, fyi.

I’d like those 3 hours of lost sleep back now.

4.0 from 2 reviews

Zucchini fritters (EJET KOUSA)

 

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Recipe courtesy of An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky (Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012); reprinted with permission.

Serves: 4 as a part of a maza platter or 2 as a meal

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• ¾ lb (350 g) zucchini (about 1 medium), grated
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed in a mortar and pestle with 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ bunch fresh parsley, minced
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• Canola oil, for frying

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; add the onion and cook until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the zucchini and cook until softened and the water has evaporated, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally; add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
2. Lightly beat together the eggs, flour, parsley, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in the zucchini mixture.
3. Add enough canola oil to a large nonstick skillet to lightly coat the bottom; heat the oil over medium heat.
4. Drop the batter into the hot pan using a small (about 2 tablespoon) or large (about 4 tablespoon) scoop. Fry until set and golden on one side, about 2 minutes; flip and cook until set and golden on the other side, about 1 minute.
5. Transfer the cooked fritters to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil, and cook the remaining egg mixture the same way, adding more oil to the skillet as necessary.

3.1.08

Tagged as: fritters, zucchini