Zucchini Bites

I read through literally a dozen recipes for zucchini cakes and zucchini fritters, trying to find one that I liked. No luck, so I'm calling this one mine - it has elements of several, like the lemon zest in the Martha Stewart recipe, but I used bread crumbs instead of flour, so that they will have a little more texture. I didn't really want a pancake-y kind of thing, but more like a little appetizer/finger food "bite." I added green onions, lots of herbs and garlic and kept the fat for frying to a minimum. Serve with Tzatziki Sauce for dipping!

  • 4 cups shredded zucchini, with as much liquid pressed out as possible
  • 2 large eggs
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 6 green onions, white and green parts sliced thinly
  • 5 cloves garlic, finely minched
  • To taste, dried or fresh: dill, thyme, mint, oregano
  • Salt and pepper 
  • 2 cups panko bread crumbs
  • Olive oil for frying 
Heat oven to 400.  Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Whisk eggs, herbs to taste and 1 teaspoon salt and pepper together. In a large bowl, toss together shredded zucchini, lemon zest and juice, green onions and garlic. Stir in eggs. Mix in half of the bread crumbs. You may need the rest after cooking the test cake.

Heat a film of olive oil in a large skillet until it shimmers. Drop a small spoonful of the zucchini mixture into the olive oil and cook until golden brown on both sides. Use that to taste the mixture for seasoning and correct if needed. Because zucchini varies in its moisture content, the mixture may need additional bread crumbs. Cook the mixture in spoonfuls, transferring to the baking sheet when golden brown. When the baking sheet is full, bake 5 minutes in the oven to finish cooking. Continue frying and baking until the mixture is gone. Serve immediately.

Note: if you make larger patties, cook them for up to 10 minutes to make sure they are cooked through.



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