Green Patties and Ham: Zucchini Fritters in All Their Glory

*There is no ham involved, I have been reading a lot of Dr. Seuss with Ella, I cannot be helped*

This week I came to the realisation that I only had 6 months left to my maternity leave (love how I acted as if this were a terribly short amount of time) so I thought, hmm, only 180 days left to cook daily (during Ella's nap time)!? Without counting the roadtrips, girls nights out, spa days, days when we order pizzas and Mcdonalds because we just want to curl up with our baby on the couch...well, get to work Karine! I also, as always, had a lot of zucchinis in my fridge and my rule goes as such: nothing is ever wasted- if it's about to go bad, it is thrown in a soup, smoothie, stir fry, the freezer or shredded to pieces and then fried. If you are both cheap and creative, great things can happen. Funny enough, I have spent copious amounts of money on trips and experiences which many don't dare to, but I cannot handle letting a green vegetable go to waste. THIS WILL NOT STAND. I stopped trying to understand my logic a very, very long time ago.

So let's talk zucchini fritters. They are easy to make and quite a nice change from the typical sautéed or baked green. Do I enjoy using a mandolin or a cheese grater and going insane for a few minutes? Well, yes, I do. However, it does take this recipe out of the 'quick fix' '10 minute dinners' list, for grating takes a while and watery vegetables such as zucchinis and cucumbers tend to make it a little messier. So, to be fair, I wouldn't pick this recipe if Ella were wide awake and wanted to play (for that I have about 78 one-pot ramen or pho soup recipes for you). Also, a fritter which is fried for too long because you looked away to check on your baby, well, is not as forgiving as you may think. So I suggest this recipe to a sober non-parent individual, or a parent who's baby is sound asleep.

As you can see below, a good example of sides to prepare for this dish can be rosemary hasselback potatoes and grilled sea salt asparagus. You truly cannot (ever) serve too many greens (or starch, don't you ever forget that).

You will need,

Zucchinis (2, grated)

Sea salt and pepper for taste

Salt (1 tbsp)

Flour (1/4 cup, mine was wheat flour)

Mozzarella (1/4 cup- or Parmesan)

Egg (1 large, don't mind the photo!)

Garlic (3 cloves, minced)

Sides,

Asparagus

Sea salt

Lemon olive oil

Hasselback potatoes (recipe posted a few days ago!)

A few simple steps,

1. Use the salt to toss around the grated zucchini in a bowl and place in a strainer over the sink for a few minutes so it can sink in

2. I either place the zucchini in a cloth and twist it really tightly to drain out the water or, using the same cloth, push it onto the zucchini in the strainer (still over the sink) so the water can come out from the bottom

3. In a large bowl, mix the cheese, flour, egg, garlic, salt and pepper together before adding the zucchini and stirring until somewhat homogeneous

4. Time to fry! In a skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil and scoop up a ball from the batter (hands or spoon, but to be fair it's more on the runny side) which you want to flatten with a spatula and let cook until it is golden, about 2 minutes on each side

5. Serve a 2-3 per plate depending on their sizes along with the potatoes and broiled asparagus