eclaire (what’s in a) name?

a few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to receive two large bags of zucchini from mike’s mom’s garden. as soon as we got home, i grated the zucchini in my food processor, and added it into spaghetti sauce and mini zucchni bread loaves for our upcoming camping trip to the russian river.

even after making double batches of the recipes above, i still had leftovers. so i threw them into a ziploc and froze them, knowing that i would relish using the fresh-from-the-garden-zucchini soon.

i couldn’t stop thinking about a recipe mike’s mom mentioned for zucchini fritters.  so when we were back from camping and ready to cook at home again, this dish was top on my list. i am crazy for savory pancakes, as evidenced by the veggie pancake recipe, corn fritter recipe, and chickpea patty recipe. so how could i possibly resist trying a new savory pancake??

while there is definitely a time and a place for complex, time consuming meals, that place is not on a weeknight. if i’m faced with a complex, lengthy recipe after working all day and swimming on my lunch break or running after work, my patience wears thin and i toy with the idea of just skipping the meal and grabbing tacos at the nearest taqueria, stat!

but this recipe falls into the quick-as-lightning category – i couldn’t believe how fast they were ready!  it just took a whisk of eggs, a mincing of parsley and garlic, a zesting of a lemon, and a stir with the already-grated zucchini (ok, so that would add a little more time if you hadn’t already grated it), and some flour and breadcrumbs. the result was amazing – light but filling, green all the way through, and bright with lemon zest. i think these are going to become a regular in our summer rotation of meals, and a great solution when there’s excess zucchini in the house!

one year ago: fresh spring rolls
two years ago: hawaiian wedding cake

zucchini fritters

yields approx 15 fritters
adapted from marthastewart.com

• 2 eggs
• 1 lemon’s zest
• 1/3c parsley, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4t pepper
• 1t salt
• 1lb grated zucchini (about 2 medium zuccs)
• 1/2c all purpose flour
• 1/2t baking powder
• 1/2c plain breadcrumbs
• olive oil for frying
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1. whisk the eggs, lemon zest, parsley, garlic, pepper, and  salt in a medium bowl until combined
2. add the grated zucchini to the bowl, and stir to coat well
3. mix the flour with the baking powder and breadcrumbs, and pour slowly into the zucchini batter, stirring to ensure there are no lumps
4. heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat
5. once oil is hot, drop the batter into the pan in 2T sized fritters
6. cook the fritters for about 3 minutes per side, until golden
7. serve with a salad and bread and cheese, if desired