lemon basil zucchini fritters

I have had zucchini fritters on my radar since before zucchini started to arrive in my CSA box (and they are yet to arrive in my garden…) I have been very lazy about making them, though, since there are so many other ways to prepare a couple zucchini and I am trying not to fry vegetables when I run out of ideas. I felt that I couldn’t hold out any longer, though. Zucchini had not yet gotten the fried treatment this summer. We wanted a smaller dinner one night this week. I had a couple of zucchini kicking around and this idea that a fritter could be made to taste light and fresh and wonderful with some herbs and lemon zest mixed into the batter. The idea panned out (ahem… frying pun), but I was a bit heavy handed with the lemon zest when I made these, so I have changed the recipe to a more appropriate amount. I used a mix of breadcrumbs and flour in the batter, as I wanted the breadcrumbs for flavor. You could certainly use all flour or possibly more breadcrumbs; just make sure whatever blend you use equals a half cup.

lemon basil zucchini fritters

• 2 zucchini, grated coarsely
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 C green onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• zest of half a lemon
• 1 T basil, finely chopped
• 1 T parsley, finely chopped
• black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 C flour
• enough breadcrumbs to top off flour and make a 1/2 C, about 3 T
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• olive oil for frying

Place grated zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with the salt. Let this rest for about 10 minutes to help draw water from the zucchini. After 10 minutes, rinse the zucchini off, remove it to a tea towel, and wring it out. Squeeze it out well; you will lose over half the bulk, but that’s OK. You don’t want soggy fritters that break apart when you fry them. Heat a quarter inch of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place the zucchini in a mixing bowl and stir it together with the green onion, garlic, lemon zest, basil, and parsley. Season with a tiny bit more salt, some black pepper, and the cayenne. When well mixed, pour in the beaten eggs and stir to combine. In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the flour, breadcrumbs, and baking powder. When they are well mixed, stir them into the zucchini. Make sure they are well combined to from a thick batter. When your oil is hot, drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the batter into the oil. Mash the batter down a little with a spatula, spoon, or fork. Fry for 3-4 minutes, until you see the bottom edges start to turn golden. Flip the fritters over and finish frying for 3-4 minutes. Remove the fritters to a rack lined with paper towels and sprinkle with just a tiny bit of salt. Serve hot with lemon wedges and seasoned tomato sauce, tzatziki sauce, or sour cream for dipping.

Makes 12 fritters.