Meatless Monday: Zucchini Fritters

My garden is long gone, but thankfully we have a little bit of Summer's goodness in our freezer.  One meal we really enjoy to use up some of our garden veggies is zucchini fritters.  And as of a few days ago, we officially used the last of our vegetables from the garden:

On the health scale, zucchini fritters are probably tipping closer to artery clogging than we'd like, but it's so yummy and we love the flavor of the zucchini.  Occasionally if I'm running low on zucchini, I'll do half zucchini and half yellow squash and we've noticed no real flavor difference.  


I also switch between using flour or panko crumbs as the binder.  I think Panko gives the fritters a bit of a crispier texture, but I don't always have it on hand :)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Zucchini Fritters with Homemade Marinara

Fritters:

2 Medium zucchini, grated

2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:  

Combine zucchini and salt and let set 5 minutes. Then rinse in cold water and either squeeze dry in a kitchen towel or spin in a salad spinner.  It's important to get all of the liquid out or else the fritters will be soggy.

Stir Together:

Zucchini

1/2 cup flour or panko crumbs

1/3 cup grated Parmesan

1 egg

1/4 red onion (or yellow if you prefer)grated

2 tsp chopped fresh basil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Drop zucchini mixture by a couple of tablespoons, flatten and fry about two minutes per side (or until centers are cooked through and outsides are brown and crispy).

Keep warm in oven until all of the fritters are cooked.  Serve with marinara and additional Parmesan.

Marinara:

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 Tbs. olive oil

Directions:

Heat oil in pot, and cook garlic and salt just until fragrant.  Add tomatoes and cook uncovered 15-20 minutes, occasionally mashing the tomatoes with a potato masher until the sauce thickens.  We like our sauce a little chunky, but if you want a smoother texture, let it cool slightly and then process the sauce in batches in either a food processor or blender.