Week4

[Posted by Ruth]

O.K., to tell the truth, I'm not a fan of zucchini.  It must run in the family, my Aunt Ruth would only except zucchini of 2" diameter or less from gardening friends.  I think they thought she like the younger, more tender ones; in actuality she just wanted the ones she could put directly into the garbage disposal without having to cut them up!  So, I knew I was going to have to find a way to prepare it that didn't feel like punishment for me.

These zucchini cakes did the trick.  I actually liked them and would make them again.  The baby garlic from the farm share is delicious, by the way.  It was a treat to have really fresh garlic for a change.

Zucchini Pancakes makes about 6

1 good sized zucchini - grated
1 head baby garlic or 1-2 cloves regular garlic crushed
1  to 1 1/2 cups panko break crumbs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
Salt and pepper to taste (don't skimp on the salt)
1/2 tsp of smoked Spanish paprika (you can use regular paprika if you don't have smoked but the smoked adds a nice dimension)
Freshly grated nutmeg - pinch
1 - 2 eggs
Olive or Canola oil for sauteing.

Put the grated zucchini in a clean dish towel, twist and squeeze as much of the water out as possible.  You should have about 2 densely packed cups of grated zucchini after squeezing.
Mix in the smaller amount of panko first, along with the cheese and spices. Add more panko, if necessary, if it looks like there's too much zucchini to hold together.  Taste mixture at this point and adjust seasoning as needed.

Mix in 1 egg at first and check to see if mixture is moist enough to hold together.  If not, add the second egg.

 Form into patties.  Heat oil in pan over medium heat and fry a few minutes on each side.  Turn them gently, so they don't break apart.