Zuccini Fritters

I'm always looking for a good way to use my zucchini. I used to love it with tomatoes in the summer - zucchini lasagna is especially good, but now that I can't eat tomatoes, I've been trying other ways. You would think someone that has grown zucchini for so many years would have tried every way by now, but not so. This is the first year I've tried fritters.

I first tried Dave's recipe, but I thought the texture too soft. It was more like eating pudding. I wanted a bite to my fritters and a crunch on the outside. I tried a couple of different ways, but in the end I used a recipe I had made before - Salmon Patties - and just substituted zucchini for the salmon. And I do love them that way. Now occasionally I make a batch for lunch.

I like to use whole grains as much as possible so I start with making bread. Yes really. Though I only have to make bread once to make an awful lot of fritters. Then I whizz the bread up in the food processor and dry it out. If you haven't guessed, you need breadcrumbs for the recipe. I often just make crumbs with leftover bread, but I had run out. I hadn't made whole wheat bread in a long time, so all my crumbs were gone. All I had were store bought white crumbs which I use in an emergency. You know the kind I mean. The "Oh my god I'm in the middle of a recipe and need breadcrumbs" kind of emergency. You don't have those? White bread crumbs keep forever in the cabinet. Whole wheat bread crumbs do not. So they are my emergency go to.

I've found that I really like the tooth of the recipe with one cup of grated zucchini, but it still works with 1 1/2, though it is softer. I tried it with that range because that is the size of a normal zucchini out of my garden. So it is convenient.

Daphne's Zucchini Fritters

• 1-1 1/2 c zucchini grated
• 1/4-1/2 t salt
• 2 T onion minced - any kind - I've even used green onions
• 1 egg
• T mayo
• 1 1/2 t Dijon mustard
• 1/4 t lemon juice
• T fresh parsley minced
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/8 t old bay seasonings
• 1/2 c whole wheat bread crumbs or cheat and use your emergency stash
• extra virgin olive oil

Put the zucchini in a bowl and sprinkle it with salt. Mix and refrigerate for an hour. Then squeeze the living daylights out of the zucchini to get as much water out as possible. My hands always hurt after I do this. I hate having a million kitchen gadgets that just do one thing as they take up too much space. But I might buy a zucchini squeezer if they made one. I'm sure a potato ricer would work, but I've never owned one of those. I might have to get one though. I'm not as young as I used to be.

Add in everything except the bread crumbs and oil and mix well. Add breadcrumbs. You can refrigerate this for a half hour. I'm usually too hungry and just make up the patties. I typically make six, but six is not a magic number. Heat some extra virgin olive oil up in a frying pan and fry them up until they are nice and crisp and brown on both sides. Drain on a paper towel.

And remember when I told you I make my own seasonings. Well the old bay seasonings are one of the mixes I make. Most of the seasonings come from the store as they don't grow well here, but old bay has paprika in it. And I can't eat paprika. So I have to make it myself if I want to eat it. And I wonder. It is a very American spice mix. Can you even buy it in Europe or Australia? Maybe not. I do love the taste of bay though and ground up bay and a bit of celery is probably good enough.

Have you noticed that each of the photos of the fritters shows a sauce? I like to eat the fritters with a horseradish mustard sauce. I throw together four ingredients. I'm not sure the exact amount because I don't measure, I just taste, but I'll give you want I think might be the amounts. 1 T mayo, 1 T horseradish, t Dijon mustard, a dash of lemon juice.