It’s the time of year when a certain vegetable is blowing up in gardens across the country. When you begin to see these green beauties everywhere from offices to farmers’ markets and you start eating a variety of breads, cakes and skillets to try to make the most of the bounty. When you must lock your doors or otherwise risk neighbors sneaking in to leave it in your kitchen.
It is… the zucchini.
And, we had our first zucchini in the garden last week. Here I am, cradling it like a baby. (Despite what you think, I’m actually relatively normal.)
But, after a class at my local University Extension about cooking zucchini, I felt ready to tackle some new zucchini recipes. And, from this single (infant) zucchini, I shredded more than 6 cups of the veggie and got to cookin’ and bakin’. (As as aside, you can totally freeze zucchini as well, and thus ensure zucchini all winter.)
Both recipes below come from the course at the Rock Island County Extension Office. However, this zucchini also encountered a mishap with zucchini brownies. Ryan and I couldn’t eat them… they definitely didn’t taste as good as Erin’s brownies. But, the two recipes below were yummy.
For dinner, we ate zucchini fritters. They are seriously delicious. We made them as the main dish, but they’d be a great side dish.
And, for reference, my husband does not normally care for many vegetables. He is very picky about veggies and is my litmus test. If he likes it, he’s good. And, he liked this. 🙂
(Of course, it’s also fried and not very good for us. But, I figure that it’s a serving or two of veggies, so it’s getting some healthy points regardless.)
Zucchini Fritters
2 cups zucchini, grated or shredded
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon parsley, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (I used Monterey Jack, which worked fine)
3/4 cup Bisquick mix
1/2 cup oil
1 bunch of chopped green onions (I used white onions from the garden)
Place zucchini, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, onions and cheese in a large bowl and mix well. Add Bisquick to bind ingredients. Heat oil in a large skillet. Drop zucchini mixture by spoonfuls in hot oil and brown on both sides (about 3 minutes per side). Drain on paper towels. Serve hot or cold.
Chocolate Zucchini Nut Bread
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
2 ounces chocolate (unsweetened, melted) (but if your husband accidentally buys the wrong chocolate at the store, hypothetically, you can also sub some melted milk chocolate chips and Hershey cocoa powder)
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cups chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light, gradually add sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in melted chocolate and zucchini. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together and gradually add to the zucchini mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Pour into 2 medium, prepared loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until toothpick inserted in the loaf comes out clean.
And, with that, the zucchini and I are on great terms. (I’m currently ignoring my attempt at zucchini brownies, which was inedible.) I can’t wait to try the other recipes, particularly the fried cheese blossoms.
Do you have a good recipe for zucchini?
I am going to make your fritters tonight! Thanks for some great recipes!
That’s an awesome zucchini!! 🙂 My mom always made what she called scrambled zucchini. Dice the zucchini, pan fry it in a little olive oil for a few minutes, drain any water off and add scrambled eggs (eggs, milk, a little salt + pepper)– cook until the eggs are done. YUM.
We also pan fry the zucchini in strips in a little olive oil and add to sandwhichs. Veggie, turkey and/or chicken are my favs to add it to. Have fun using your fabulous veggies from your garden!! 🙂
Finally found my “paper” copy of the Zucchini “Crab Cakes.” From Gooseberry Patch:
2 c. zucchini, peeled and grated (I don’t peel mine)
1 c. seasoned Italian bread crumbs
1 T. mayo
1 T. Old Bay
2 eggs
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
Combine all ingredients, pat into cakes, and fry in an oiled skillet. Serves 4-6.
The fritters look ah-mazing. Around my house, we actually love zucchini on pizzas (usually pita bread + sauce, zucchini, ground pepper, shredded cheese). We’ve also been known to add it to stir-fry, rice dishes and curry.
I never have been a fan of zucchini, but maybe I will have to try the fritters. I bet the Mister would like them.
We like “Poor Man’s Crab Cakes.” Basically just shredded zucchini, old bay, bread crumbs, mayo and eggs. Amazing how yummy they taste. There are a zillion different recipes online for them. They’re also called “mock crab cakes.”
those fritters look deelish, but omg that sucker is huge! and it’s still a baby? i want to grow zucchini so badly, but i settled for eggplant in a container. this is making me feel all sorts of things…jealous, hungry, motivated to grow my own…
Yum! That looks really good!
I was randomly given a zucchini the other day and was kinda confused as to what I should do with it…Now I know!
That is one big baby. 😉 Can’t believe you got 6 cups out of it!!
The fritters look amazing. Yum!! I am still lovin’ my zucchini bread recipe and will have to try yours too. 🙂
Man that baby is big! I’m not a big zucchini fan with chocolate I just might like it. I kind of feel like I’m in a Dr. Seuss book.
I am so jealous that you have zucchini already… I don’t know what’s going on in my garden, but my zucchini plants keep flowering and haven’t produced anything yet. Those fritters look ridiculously awesome!
I’m definitely figuring out a way to grow zucchini next year (we have a small, small yard). That looks delicious!
OMG, the fritters! I MUST try some fritters. Our neighbor always heaps (and heaps and heaps) zucchini on us during the summertime, so I’m totally bookmarking this page. 🙂
Beautiful zucchini, by the way! I wish I had grown something. I had a whole tray of various seedlings that never got planted. I wish it were the thought that counted in this case …
We call ours Zucchini rounds and we actually JUST had them last night. My grandma makes a very similar recipe and they are AWESOME!
I found a great recipe (and super easy!) last night for Zucchini Parmesan: http://www.aliciashomemaking.com/2010/07/zucchini-parmesan.html
What did they tell you about freezing zucchini? The one time I tried it, it was a soggy, disgusting mess.
wow! those fritters look delicious!
our 1 zucchini is painfully small still!
8 zucchini on my counter right now….fritters for lunch! Oh, and I have an AWESOME recipe that uses the big Z for cookies! My kids love them. http://jvanoort.blogspot.com/2010/01/zucchini-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
Yum! I will have to make those fritters this week! They look amazing!
omg. i was just talking to my mom and gram about zucchini fritters (or as we call everything thats flay and fried/grilled) pancakes.
they look so super yummy. ( i just tried to smell my screen … needless to say it didn’t work) I need to go ‘borrow’ some zucchini from my grams garden asap.
I remember the first time I made zucchini bread for my hubby…he never imagined anything from zucchini would taste that good! It’s a wonder veggie!