zucchini fritters (for the freezer)

Zucchini Fritters

Makes 8-12 fritters; easily scaled up for larger batches! These fritters freeze perfectly for easy meals and snacks throughout the winter. 

1 lb zucchini, shredded, salted, and drained

1 tsp salt

2 scallions, white and green parts, sliced thinly

1 egg, beaten

Freshly ground pepper 

½ cup AP flour

½ tsp baking powder

Neutral oil for frying

For Indian spiced variety, add ½ tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp ground cumin, ¼ tsp cayenne, and ½ tsp ground ginger to the dry ingredients before combining. 

Use a box grater or food processor with grater attachment to shred zucchini. Dump into a bowl, toss with 1 tsp coarse salt, and leave for 10 minutes while you measure the other ingredients. 

Wring out the zucchini as best you can; I like to use a clean dish towel and really squeeze the crap out of it. You can also press into a strainer or colander. Put the zucchini back in the bowl (taste to check salt level- rinse if too salty, add a ¼ tsp salt if it needs more), add the egg and scallions, and then add the (previously combined) dry ingredients. 

Preheat oven to 200F. Heat oil in a skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat until shimmering. Using an ice cream scoop, ¼ cup measure, or big spoon, drop the zucchini fritter batter in to the oil and flatten with a spatula. I usually fit 3-5 in an 8 inch pan; you want about an inch of space between them so the edges get golden. Cook each side 3-4 minutes until golden then remove to a lined baking sheet in the preheated oven. Keep cooking the fritters, reoiling the pan as you go, until you run out of batter. Give the final pan of fritters at least 10 minutes in the oven; the baking helps them dry out a little further. 

Eat right away with a little raita or tzatziki and lemon juice! 

To preserve: let fritters cool, then put into the freezer still on the pan to flash freeze. Once they’re frozen solid, stack and store in a freezer bag or freezer safe container. To reheat, put them straight from the freezer onto a pan in a 325F oven until heated through and crispy. You can also reheat in the toaster, toaster oven, microwave, or stovetop in a dry pan. Toaster or oven work best for crispy, heated-through fritters.

Notes:

You can add or substitute various seasonal veg for the zucchini and scallions in this recipe. Of course ALL summer squash can be used in addition to or instead of zucchini, as well as grated carrots or potatoes, finely chopped broccoli, grated kohlrabi… any heartier veg that you can grate or chop finely will do well in any combination, and you can also add a generous amount of torn up or thinly sliced greens like kale or collards, as well as fresh herbs! Any lighter allium like a shallot, spring onion, or fresh garlic will do in place of the scallions.