Zucchini Fritters

Ever since we gave up meat for 3 weeks last spring, I find I’m always on the hunt for hearty vegetarian dishes.  I really like meat, I just don’t feel the need to eat it everyday.  I don’t monitor too strictly what I eat, but I do like to maintain a constant effort to increase the number of vegetables in my diet.  As it is, we do eat a lot of vegetables.  Dinner always includes salad or a roasted vegetable on the side.  But dinners that actually feature vegetables as the main dish, those are far less frequent.

The other night I had on hand a daunting amount of zucchini from my mom’s garden.  Instead of transforming the zucchini into a side dish or pasta sauce, I searched for a recipe that featured the zucchini as the main. It didn’t take much time to find and settle on Simply Recipe’s Zucchini Fritters.  With only a handful of ingredients, these couldn’t be simpler to make.  Topped with a creamy yogurt sauce, these fritters made for a supremely comforting meal any meat lover would enjoy.  We served them alongside a tomato and avocado salad.  To beef up the meal even more, rice or couscous would be a natural addition.

Zucchini Fritters slightly adapted from Simply Recipes

Serves 2

2 medium sized zucchini, grated

3 T freshly chopped chives

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c flour

1 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper

olive oil

Yogurt Sauce (these measurements are somewhat rough, so be sure to taste for seasoning before serving)

1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt

1/2 cup grated cucumber, excess water squeezed out

1 small clove garlic, grated

2 tsp freshly squeeze lemon juice

s+p to taste

Make the yogurt sauce first: Stir together all ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Let rest in fridge while preparing zucchini fritters.  Taste again for seasonings just before serving.

Make the fritters:  Sprinkle 1 tsp salt over the grated zucchini and let rest for 10 minutes.  Ring out zucchini with paper towels in two batches to remove all excess water.  Set a large sauce pan to medium heat, coat bottom of pan generously with olive oil. While pan is heating, mix egg, flour, chives, and pepper into zucchini.  Mixture should be paste-like.  Once pan is heated, drop spoonfuls (2-3 tablespoons) into the oil, flatten slightly with the back of a spoon, and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until nicely browned.  Place cooked fritters on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Serve immediately.