Zucchini Fritters

We were visiting my husband's mother last weekend and she made these delicious fritters with zucchini from her garden.  I can't wait to try it myself!

Zucchini Fritters

1 lb (or 1 medium) zucchini squash, grated
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp herbs (she used dill & oregano)
1/2 hot pepper, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup cheese
1 egg
canola oil, for frying

Spread the grated zucchini on a dish towel and put salt on top.  Let it sit for about 15 minutes and squeeze all the moisture out of it.  It will fall off the towel when it is dry enough.  Put the grated zucchini in a bowl.  Squeeze the onion and hot pepper in the same way.

Mix the zucchini, onion, hot pepper, herbs, bread crumbs, cheese and egg in the bowl.  Form into small patties and place on a plate.  Refrigerate for an hour.

Heat 1/4" canola oil in frying pan.  Cook fritters until golden on both sides.  Remove from pan and drain on paper towel. 

Optional:  Top each fritter with a little pepper jelly or sweet & sour sauce

Roasted Ratatouille

This roasted dish is definitely prettier than the other Ratatouille recipe, but we did not like it as much as the stove-top version.  My husband liked the red pepper flakes in this one, though.

Roasted Ratatouille

1 lb eggplant, diced and cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 1/2 lbs tomatoes, quartered
1/2 lb zucchini, diced into 1/2" cubes
1/2 lb yellow squash, diced into 1/2" cubes
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes or hot sauce (optional)
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and set aside in a colander to drain for at least 30 minutes.  Rinse, drain, and pat dry.

3. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Saute the onion and garlic about 5 minutes (do not brown).  Add the bell pepper and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. 

4. Add the tomatoes and smash a bit with a spoon.  Stir in the diced eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, vinegar, sugar, and red pepper flakes, if desired.  Transfer the mixture to a baking pan and bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time, until the vegetables are browned just a bit on the edges.  Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe is from "The Cleaner Plate Club" cookbook: The Cleaner Plate Club: Raising Healthy Eaters One Meal at a Time.  I am encouraged by the concept of the book...cooking whole foods that the whole family can enjoy.  This was my second attempt at making a meal from the cookbook (first was a moderately good cucumber salad recipe), and I am hopeful that we will enjoy more of the recipes.

Stuffed Zucchini with Avgolemono (Lemon Egg) Sauce

As promised, I slayed the giant zucchini to create this:

Stuffed Zucchini with Avgolemono (Lemon Egg) Sauce

6-8 servings

2 lbs zucchini

3 Tbsp butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb lean ground beef

½ cup rice

1/3 cup parsley, chopped

2 tsp salt (may reduce)

Pepper to taste

Sauce:

2 eggs

1 Tbsp water

3 lemons, juice of (about 1/3 cup)

1 cup chicken broth

1.       Wash zucchini, trim ends, cut in half, scoop out centers.  Chop pulp.

2.       In large saucepan, heat butter, sauté onions, add meat and cook until brown, add rice, zucchini pulp, parsley, salt and pepper.  Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes.

3.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spoon mixture into zucchini shells.  Place in greased baking dish.  Cover and bake for 45 minutes. 

4.       Meanwhile, make the avgolemono sauce:

Beat eggs and water.  Slowly add lemon juice and broth, mixing the whole time.  Warm sauce over low heat.

5.       Uncover  stuffed zucchini and bake 5 minutes.  Top with avgolemono sauce.

If you happen to make this recipe with a giant zucchini, you can cut it into individual servings. 

This recipe was made from The Key to Greek Cooking cookbook, which we bought from the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Atlanta, GA.  The above link will take you to Amazon, but I think only used copies are available at this time.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is not a pretty dish.  What it lacks in beauty, though, it more than makes up for in taste...especially when you use fresh local produce.  Here is a pic of the vegetable ingredients:

Look at all those vibrant colors.  Just like in painting, if you mix all those colors you get brown.  Cooked up it looks like this:

And it is delicious!

I serve it over rice, so the first thing I do is make enough rice servings for my family.  By the time the rice is done, so is the Ratatouille.

Ratatouille (6 servings)

1 medium eggplant (1 - 1 1/2 lbs)

2 small zucchini (1/2 lb)

1 medium green pepper, chopped (1 cup)

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

2 medium tomatoes, cut into fourths

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Wash eggplant and peel (if desired).  Cut in half inch cubes.  Boil 5-8 minutes or until tender.

Wash zucchini.  Remove stem and blossom ends but do not peel.  Cut in half inch cubes.  Boil 3-6 minutes.

Cook eggplant, zucchini and remaining ingredients in 12" skillet over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is tender.

Serve over rice.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup and Zucchini bake

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

4 tomatoes
4 cups tomato juice
14 fresh basil leaves
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and seed tomatoes:
Cut out the cores and score a cross in the base of each tomato.  Immerse the tomatoes in a pan of boiling water for 8-15 seconds.  Transfer to a bowl of cold water with a slotted spoon.  The skin should peel off easily...lift the edge of the skin with a knife, if needed.  Seed the tomatoes by halving them and squeezing the seeds out.  I prefer to rinse them out in my kitchen sink.

For the soup:
Place tomatoes and juice in a stock pot over medium heat.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Let cool before transferring to a blender or food processor.  Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves.  Return the puree to the stock pot.  Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat, stirring until the butter is melted.  Do not boil.


Zucchini Bake

3 cups zucchini, unpeeled and sliced
1 cup biscuit mix
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
dash garlic powder
2 Tbsp fresh parsely, chopped
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheast oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix well.  Pour mixture into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes until lightly browned.

My confession:  I was not a big fan of this zucchini bake at first (I think because of the parmesan cheese).  However, I do like to eat tomato soup balanced with some carbohydrates (grilled cheese sandwich or crackers).  Since one of the ingredients in this casserole is biscuit mix, I decided to try dipping the casserole into my soup and eating it that way (weird, I know).  It was delicious!