A Mid-East Feast: Zucchini Fritters
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I hope you’re ready for some Middle Eastern food! For the next several weeks, along with some fabulous bloggers, I’ll be sharing a few recipes from Faith’s new cookbook An Edible Mosaic. Though I’ve never had a single piece of Middle Eastern food prior to this week, when Brandy asked me to join in on the fun I couldn’t say no…I was intrigued.
We’re kicking off the series with zucchini fritters. Faith described them as savory pancakes and suggests serving them with “olives, fresh tomatoes and a stack of flatbread.” I was *this* close to making potato pancakes or potato fritters to go along with these because my love for potatoes is seriously out of control. But yesterday I ate potatoes loaded with cheese and bacon for lunch…and then had the weirdest thought that maybe I’d eaten too much. Is there even such a thing when it’s something like that? Clearly I’m ill.
I agree with Gina that these are a lot like a mini frittatas. They’re eggy and full of sautéed zucchini and onion, with a hint of garlic and a dash of pepper. They smell truly incredible. Plus, I can’t get over how ridiculously simple they were to whip up.
If I’d only known how simple they were, it probably wouldn’t have taken me so long to get this weeks recipe done! I anticipated it being time consuming or messy. And while there is some frying involved it’s not dramatic splatter inducing kind of frying. Though to be honest, I did splatter myself with the first or second flip. A tip – don’t flip and splat the zucchini fritter down, gently flip the fritter over onto it’s uncooked side on the edge of the pan and slide it down back into the oil. No splatter. No pain.
If you love zucchini … or veggie packed frittatas these are a must make.
Recipe courtesy of An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky
(Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012); reprinted with permission.
Serves 4 as a part of a maza platter or 2 as a meal
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
¾ lb (350 g) zucchini (about 1 medium), grated
2 large cloves garlic, crushed in a mortar and pestle with 1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ bunch fresh parsley, minced
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil, for frying
1. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; add the onion and cook until it
starts to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the zucchini and cook until
softened and the water has evaporated, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally; add the
garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
2. Lightly beat together the eggs, flour, parsley, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in
the zucchini mixture.
3. Add enough canola oil to a large nonstick skillet to lightly coat the bottom; heat the oil
over medium heat.
4. Drop the batter into the hot pan using a small (about 2 tablespoon) or large (about 4
tablespoon) scoop. Fry until set and golden on one side, about 2 minutes; flip and cook
until set and golden on the other side, about 1 minute.
5. Transfer the cooked fritters to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil, and
cook the remaining egg mixture the same way, adding more oil to the skillet as
necessary.
They look phenomenal. I love the combination of zucchini and onions so to add some egg to the mixture just makes it doubly fantastic.
Love just about anything zucchini, these look great!
YUM! I’m a huge fan of middle eastern food so i’m excited about this series. and these fritters look fab!
Such a pretty stack of fritters, Rachel! I haven’t made them in a couple weeks and after seeing everyone’s posts on them, I’m craving them something fierce, lol! Thank you so much for participating!
“…eaten too much.” – I don’t comprehend ;P Seriously though, your zucchini fritters turned out just gorgeous. I felt the same way about waiting so long to make mine. I do think these would be wonderful alongside some sort of tater for breakfast, though!
I was actually sad when the smell of them in the house went away. Glad I’m not the only one who enjoyed that fried smell.
Gorgeous and they sound delicious!
Oh, I’m always ready for Middle Eatern food (or anykind of food). Those look lovely, been wanting to try zucchini for a while. Lovely!
Ooooh! Looks so delicious!
Yours looks fantastic!
Rachel, these are like a version of latke I make (minus the potato.) You’ve had me yearning for them since early this morning.
Gorgeous! I love anything with zucchini, these sound amazing!
oh i love anything with zucchini! these fritters look so easy to make but i love that they’re so crispy from the frying – it’s like a hashbrown but healthier (cause it’s got veggies hehe ;) )
I made zuke fritters a few weeks ago but baked them. Yours are just…beyond delish looking! I need to try your method next time and I just got Faith’s book, too. So beautiful! Can’t wait to hear what you make next!
Right up my alley! Healthy AND cute!
Hi! This dish is called ‘Mücver’ originally, and it’s Turkish so it’s not REALLY Middle Eastern though very close. (You can check under ‘Culinary Uses’: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zucchini)
Thought you’d like to know :)
For someone who has never had any middle eastern food prior to making these fritters you certainly aced these first time out. They look very appetizing
Love this recipe! Love Middle Eastern food. Your photos make me want make these.
These look SO good! I wish I had a plate right now!
great post..this is called ijjeh koosa..its enjoyed throughout the sham/levant, ie Lebanon Syria Jordan Palestine..and yes it also widely known in Turkey..they dont belong to anyone country although the Turks would like to claim it..so many of the foods throughout the region are similar with slight variations ..this dish came about because after hallowing out zuccini for stuffing ,the insides were used to make the fritters..they can also be made with cauliflower and just with herbs ,