Not often, but practically every day someone asks me: ‘What’s for Supper?’ If I had a $50 bill for every time that happens I’d be relaxing on a cruise right now! So, I’ll just tell you what’s for supper from this downhome food columnist. Baked Whitefish with lemon and Italian spices, zucchini fritters, broccoli and tomatoes. With our son, Phillip, away at college, it’s time to enjoy one of our favorite foods, zucchini.
On the fish remember consumers need to pay close attention to where the fish was raised and processed. Lately I’ve been acquiring Tilapia, at my grocer’s, from Honduras. I think I’ve prepared this fish grilled, baked and fried. But the subject today is one of my favorite sides, zucchini fritters, let’s get there!
When it comes to good ways to enjoy the fast growing zucchini, this is it for me. My good friend at work, Brandi suffers from alfa gal syndrome, (Being bitten by the Lone Star Tick) so this is one recipe I’m going to recommend she try. A few years ago I went into a Ruby Tuesday’s to dine and they were serving my recipe as a slider! We always had them as a simple fritter, but as I’ve outlined in the next paragraph they are outstanding made into a sandwich. Same thing goes for the eggplant, it too is delicious in a sandwich.
The original fritter recipe contains no cheese. Add a nice amount of parmesan and you can take the fritter to a protein filled fritter/slider. Fry the ‘cake’ on a coated skillet or use coconut oil and you can turn this fritter into your main entrée. Create a sandwich with real cheese, tomato, lettuce and maybe even a special sauce!
Perhaps with a bit of persuasion the kids will try something new. Grab nice sandwich buns before you present this idea to the family. I don’t think it will be as well received if it’s served between two pieces of bread. Sorta’ like my motto: ‘Dress it up with the right plate, napkin and setting and peanut butter and jelly is just pretty terrific.’
Cheddar cheese or Pepper Jack would be interesting choices instead of Parmesan which I mentioned above. Don’t omit the onions because they really help on the flavor end. Green onions would also add a bit more ‘zip’.
The sprinkling of salt on the zucchini helps to pull out extra moisture. It can be omitted if you are in a hurry, or don’t want extra salt content. Try to use a food processor to shred the zucchini. Grating on a box grater actually creates additional moisture because of the bruising the vegetable receives.
Fry up a bunch of these and use them as the side to a steak or pork steak. Everyone in Missouri always wants to know how to use up their excessive zucchini production!! Enjoy your week readers and I’ll see what I can cook up for next week. Simply yours, The Covered Dish. www.thecovereddish.com
Zucchini Fritters
3 cups shredded zucchini (1 lb.)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
2 whole eggs or 4 whites
1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon (or more) black or white pepper
Optional cheese of choice 1/4- 1/2 cup
Sprinkle salt onto shredded zucchini, set for 30 minutes and drain. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Drop fritters by spoonful onto the griddle and then flip them once as they brown. Should they seem too runny add just a little more flour. Use a coated griddle and brush it with your choice of butter or oil.
Serve as a side or make into a slider sandwich with your favorite accompaniments. Makes enough fritters for 4-5 persons when eaten as a side.
