Continuing our “make use of the best of the late season garden” theme of the past several weeks, these End of Summer Zucchini Fritters are an easy peasy, damned-tasty way to use up one of late summer – early fall’s bumper crops.
Years ago living up in the Flathead we’d occasionally round up the entire crew and head up to a now defunct eatery north of Whitefish that served incredibly delicious zucchini fritters (they called them spiders) with a vietnamese-inspired dipping sauce.
Those have always been the gold standard to which I’ve compared various home fritter versions; with a bit of creativity and a pinch of elbow grease in assembly – these are even better.
You really must let the salted, grated zucchini drain well, and give it a good squeeze before mixing with the rest of the goods. The panko is also an essential and my lovely wife can’t imagine these without a handful of grated cheddar, finely chopped green onions and a bit of cilantro.
Make a big batch; you’ll never eat just one of these.
About a pound and a half of zucchini (3 medium-large), trimmed and grated
¾ tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup (or more) panko
½ sweet onion, grated or very finely chopped
3 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
1 tbsp (generous) corn starch
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper for seasoning
Your favorite frying oil (consider using coconut too)Consider adding (optional): ½ cup or more of grated cheese, finely chopped green onions, finely chopped cilantro, your favorite hot sauce or sriracha
Place the grated zucchini in a colander (in the sink), mix in the salt, and let stand 40-50 minutes. Pour the zucchini into a clean kitchen towel and wring out all the remaining water you can.
Place zucchini in a large bowl, add the eggs, flour, panko, onion, chives, cornstarch, and optional ingredients if using; mix well.
Heat your oil of choice in a large skillet, then drop 1/3-cup sized dollops of the zucchini mixture in, flattening them slightly, and cook until crispy and golden-brown (roughly 3 minutes per side).
Drain on a paper towel lined plate and serve with a sprinkle of hot salt, a dash of salt to taste, or your best dipping sauce.
Enjoy.
