(Author’s Note: I just found this post in the depths of my hard drive–I had written it over the summer, but I had forgotten all about it in the chaos of medic school. Mea culpa!)
My garden was very productive this summer, and it refuses to let up even now that the summer is drawing to a close. I have picked more zucchini than I know what to do with! I was watching the insufferable Food Network a few days ago when Ina Garten was making zucchini pancakes, so I decided to make them. My recipe is an adaptation of Ina’s, which can be found here.
Gather the following ingredients:
1 large zucchini, about 12″ long
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Gather your ingredients and prepare for battle!
Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, removing the stem as well. If the interior of the zucchini is especially seedy, go ahead and scoop the stringy seedy mess with a spoon and discard it. Just use what you have, it’s really no big deal. Shred the zucchini with your box grater and place it in a large bowl. Chop your onion very finely and add that to the zucchini immediately.
My zucchini was pretty big and rather seedy, so I scooped out the seeds. If you’re using smaller zucchini, skip this step.
After your zucchini and onion are sufficiently grated and chopped, immediately stir in the eggs, salt, and pepper. Add the flour and baking powder to the vegetable mixture and stir until just combined–the batter will be quite thin.
The batter is quite thin–don’t worry, it’s normal. If your batter is still scarily thin, consider adding another tablespoon of flour, or 2 as an absolute maximum.
Preheat your oven to 275 degrees and heat a frying pan over medium heat with the butter and olive oil. Take large spoonfuls of the batter and place them around the pan after it is hot, and let them cook about 2 minutes per side depending on how large they are. When both sides have browned sufficiently, remove them from the pan and keep them warm in the oven until the remaining cakes are done. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the final product because my memory card was full, but they’ll basically look like pancakes. The texture is slightly different than a traditional pancake and instead develops a bit of an eggy texture, and they taste great. Serve with applesauce and/or sour cream/creme fraiche and enjoy!
