Now that you've been informed about the trials and tribulations of zucchini growing, let's get to the point of today's post, shall we? Zucchini cakes! Oh sure they've been done before but boy, are they good! A few weeks ago my girlfriends and I were out to lunch. I spotted zucchini cake sliders on the menu and thought now that sounds good! I ordered them and indeed, I was right, they WERE good! So promptly I went to the store to buy zucchini (it's not zucchini season in Colorado currently, much to my dismay) so I could recreate these babies. They seemed pretty basic in their ingredients, zucchini, red bell pepper and feta cheese, with some binders to hold it together.
The Witch decided to use an egg as one of the binders along with some panko breadcrumbs. Not much, I wanted the veggie to be the star of this cake, but enough to hold it together. The panko is very light in texture, not dense like traditional bread crumbs can be. It helped the cakes have a nice firmness to them with out being dense or heavy. The crunch of the red onions provided a nice contrast to the soft zucchini. As the cakes brown the zucchini takes on a fantastic flavor, browned zucchini is the only way to eat it in this Witches' opinion! As the cakes cook the feta softens and melts, adding it's salty flavor to each bite. These zucchini cakes are a taste sensation, low in calories and vegetarian! Sounds like a great lunch or side dish idea to me!
Zucchini Cakes
makes 4 cakes, 2 cakes per serving
1 medium zucchini (about 7-8 inches long) shredded
about 2T diced roasted red bell pepper
scant 1T fine diced red onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c panko bread crumbs
1/4 c feta cheese
approximately 1/2 t kosher salt
a pinch pepper, or to taste
about 1-2T olive oil for cooking
Shred zuccini using large holes on a box grater. Squeeze zucchini to remove excess liquid. Put squeezed zucchini into a small work bowl. Add the diced roasted red peppers, garlic, onion, panko, feta and S&P. Pour the beaten egg over top and using a fork, gently mix. You'll want a cohesive mixture with no obvious pockets of dry bread crumbs or uncoated veggies.
Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Once hot scoop zucchini mix into 4 patties, about 1/4 c each. Make about 1/2 inch thick by 3-4 inches diameter. Cover skillet and fry cakes on first side until golden browned, about 5 minutes. Cakes will still be very fragile so be careful when you flip them. Gently flip and continue cooking covered on second side, until browned and cakes hold together. Serve and enjoy!
4 comments:
It's so nice to see a "cakes" recipe where the breadcrumbs aren't 80% of the ingredients! I'll be making these tonight! :)
I'll be more than happy to take some of the zucchinis from you. I absolutely love them!
Maybe one day if I move to a house with a back garden, I'd like to plant home-grown veg too.
The cakes look fab. Oh, yum!
Oh, they're gorgeous! Colorful, healthy, perfect for keeping New Year's resolutions and reminding us of the bounty of summer ... :)
Beautiful! And I'm sure they tasted even better! I so wished that I lived closer to you - I would help you use up all those zucchinis! It's one of the few veggies Chris and I agree on! lol
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