Pancakes for Dinner

In these early days of summer, we are more likely to assemble dinner than to cook it, throwing together a salad of the freshest of the crop, tossed with a dressing made of whatever we have on hand.  A bit of grilled meat or fish; grilled corn; perhaps a pasta dish if we are feeling fancy.  Nothing difficult.  No recipe required.


When we found some early zucchini in our weekly share, however, we felt the need to fire up the stove and head to the cookbooks.  We have toyed with zucchini fritters in the past, and we have always been disappointed.  Like their breakfast cousin, the pancake, it is hard to get everything about a fritter just right: the batter; the flavor; the heat of the cooking oil; the kind of cooking oil; even the topping with which to serve the finished product.  Zucchini has an incredibly high water content, so we knew we had to shred it and let it drain, but beyond that, a successful fritter had always eluded us.


For help, we turned to one of our favorite blog, www.smittenkitchen.com, and like most of Deb Perlman's incredible recipes, this one scored well in all categories.  With only one major change -- we shredded and drained the zucchini, and THEN weighed it -- this recipe is a keeper.  Our advice: make the sauce first. You are sure to eat the first of the fritters piping hot, just out of the pan, while standing over the stove making the rest of them; you'll want to have the sauce ready when you are.


Zucchini Fritters
Adapted from http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/08/zucchini-fritters/
Makes about 16-20 2-inch fritters, or enough for 4-6 adults


3-4 medium zucchini, weighing slightly more than 2 pounds total
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, plus more to taste

4 scallions, diced

2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Canola oil, for frying

Dipping Sauce

1 cup sour cream or plain, full-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pinch kosher salt
1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic

Make the sauce: Stir all ingredients together and adjust salt to taste.  Can be made a few hours in advance.

Trim the ends off the zucchini and grate them on the large holes of a box grater.  In a colander, toss the zucchini with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and set colander in your sink to drain.  After about 10 minutes, wring out the zucchini, either by squeezing small handfuls at a time or by using a spatula to press the zucchini against the holes of the colander.  Skip this step at your peril; you don't want soggy fritters.

Weigh out 2 pounds of shredded, drained zucchini, and dump into a large bowl.  Add 2-3 pinches kosher salt, to taste.  Mix in scallions, eggs and pepper.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder, and then add to zucchini batter, stirring until just combined.

 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Heat 4 tablespoons of canola oil over medium to medium-high heat in a large skillet, until shimmering.  Working in batches, use a spoon to drop 1-2 tablespoons of batter onto the skillet, and flatten slightly with the back of the spoon.  Cook until golden at the edges, about 3-4 minutes.  Flip over and cook 2-3 minutes on the other side, until golden.  As with all pancakes: reduce heat if browning too quickly; keep a sufficient amount of oil in the pan to prevent burning; and rotate pan to avoid hot spots.  Drain on paper towels, and then keep warm in 200 degree oven, which has the advantage of crisping the fritters even further.   

Deb claims that these are a good make-ahead dish: "These fritters keep well, either chilled in the fridge for the better part of a week and or frozen in a well-sealed package for months. When you’re ready to use them, simply spread them out on a tray in a 325 degree oven until they’re hot and crisp again."  We will have to take her word, having had no leftovers whatsoever at the end of our dinner.