WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE between a good Zucchini Fritter and great one? Well, first the crust. It should be delightfully crunchy. Then the interior should be firm but smooth, and loaded with good zucchini flavor, plus other tastes such as fresh lemon and chive. And finally, when you bite into the fritter, you should hear a choir of angels sing. Such exquisiteness is not difficult to produce:
Zucchini Fritters with a Sour Cream Dipping Sauce
Ingredients for 15-20 2 1/2- to 3-inch fritters
2 pounds (about 4 medium) zucchini
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, plus an extra 1/2 teaspoon
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
Grated zest of 1 lemon, divided
Juice of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Grinds of black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Olive oil
1 cup sour cream
Chive blossom petals or snipped chives for garnish
Note: If you have shredded, drained, and measured zucchini in your freezer (per these directions), you can use 2 servings (one cup each) for this recipe. Let them thaw in a large glass bowl before proceeding.
1. Shredding the Zucchini. Slice both ends off the squash, then cut it crosswise in half. Cut each half in half lengthwise. Then shred the pieces in a food processor that’s outfitted with the metal shredding disk.
Pour the shreds into a large bowl; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt. Toss the shreds with your hands, then let sit for about 10 minutes while they drain.
2. Squeezing the squash. Grab a handful of shredded zucchini, give it a squeeze, and then place it in a clean kitchen towel. Twist and squeeze the towel over a bowl or sink to relieve most of the water from the squash. You’ll be amazed at how much water comes out — I certainly was. Pour the squash into a large glass bowl. Repeat this step for the remaining squash.
3. Flavoring the Squash. To the bowl of squeezed-out squash, stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt (the other salt you added will have escaped with the liquid) and several grinds of black pepper.
Stir in also a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh chives…
A 1/2 Tablespoon of grated lemon zest…
…and finally, the beaten eggs. I hope you are using local eggs from local chickens. Even my crummy supermarket sells local eggs now. Which means it isn’t such a crummy supermarket after all.
4. The flour and baking powder. In a small yellow bowl, whisk together 1 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
I can’t tell you how often I use this tiny wire whisk. It came to me as a Christmas present, attached to a mug and a package of gawd-awful “Swiss Miss” instant hot chocolate. Because I make hot chocolate the old-fashioned way, I threw out the powdered (just add water!) mix, but kept the mug and whisk.
Dump the flour mixture into the zucchini, and stir just enough to coat the shredded squash. The zucchini mixture will seem very dry.
5. Frying the Fritters. At this point, pour a glug of olive oil into a skillet. Heat the skillet over a medium flame.
Cast-iron is my skillet of choice not only for fritter-frying, but for open-hearth cooking, too. Such pans are also useful as weapons, and I don’t mean in the culinary sense. In the 1960s, housewives commonly hit philandering husbands over the head with them. Or at least they did in 1960s cartoons. I grew up with such cartoons.
I also grew up with Mrs. Olson. Mrs. Olson used to tell young housewives how to make good coffee. So their husbands wouldn’t divorce them.
Back to fritter-making. Pick up a cherry-tomato sized clump of dough. Don’t bother flattening it out, or it will make a mess all over your hands. As always, I speak from experience.
Lay as many as will fit in your skillet, making sure there is an inch or two of air-space between each fritter. Crowded fritters won’t brown very well. Let them fry for 3-4 minutes.
When the bottom of the fritters have turned a lovely golden brown, flip them over, and flatten them slightly with the back of a spatula. Cook the other, “non-public” side for only a minute or two. And if the fritters seem to be turning black, not brown, you will have to lower the heat for your next batch.
Drain the morsels on several layers of paper towels. Then, if you are not going to serve them right away, set them on a baking sheet, and keep them warm in a 200F oven.
We need a dreamy dipping sauce which is worthy of these fabulous fritters.
Stir the juice of one lemon into one cup of sour cream. Then stir in the remaining 1/2 Tablespoon of lemon zest. Pour this mixture into a small bowl. Arrange the fritters on a serving platter, with the bowl of sauce set in the middle.
And then, if you happen to have a chive blossom in your garden — as I obviously did — snip it, and then rip out its lovely lavender petals.
Scatter the petals over the sauce, the fritters, and in any open space on the platter.
What’s that? Your chive plant isn’t in bloom just now? Then simply mince a few chives, and use them as garnish.
Or, forget the garnish, and just eat the fritters already. You know you want to.
Need a copy-and-paste version of the above recipe? I’m happy to oblige:
Zucchini Fritters
Kevin Lee Jacobs, A Garden for the House
Ingredients for 15-20 2 1/2- to 3-inch fritters
2 pounds (about 4 medium) zucchini
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, plus a 1/2 teaspoon more for seasoning
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
Grated zest of 1 lemon, divided
Juice of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Grinds of black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Olive oil
Sour Cream
Chive blossom petals or snipped chives for garnishSpecial Equipment: A food processor, a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet
1. Preparing & Shredding the Zucchini. Slice both ends off the squash, then cut it crosswise in half. Cut each half in half lengthwise. Then shred the pieces in a food processor that’s outfitted with the metal shredding disk.Pour the shreds into a large bowl; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt. Toss the shreds with your hands, then let sit for about 10 minutes while they drain.
2. Squeezing the Zucchini. Grab a handful of shredded zucchini, give it a squeeze, and then place it in a clean kitchen towel. Twist and squeeze the towel over a bowl or sink to relieve most of the water from the squash. Pour the squash into a large glass bowl. Repeat this step for the remaining squash.
3. Flavoring the Dough. To the bowl of squeezed-out squash, stir in the 1/4 teaspoon salt, several grinds of black pepper, 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest and the chopped chives. Then stir in the beaten eggs.
4. Finishing the Dough. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder, then add to the zucchini mixture. Stir just enough to incorporate the flour.
5. Frying the fritters. Pour a glug of olive into a skillet (cast-iron preferred). Heat the skillet over a medium flame. Then, with your hands, scoop up a cherry-tomato sized clump of dough, and set it in the heated oil. Place as many fritters as will fit in the pan, but make sure to leave air-space between each morsel. Fry for 3-4 minutes, or until the underside is golden-brown. Flip the fritters over, and fry for another minute or two. Let drain on a layer of paper towels.
Note: If you are not going to serve the fritters right away, keep them warm on baking sheet set in a 200F oven.
6. Serving. Make a quick dipping-sauce by combining, in a small bowl, one cup of sour cream. the juice of one lemon, and the remaining 1/2 Tablespoon of lemon zest. Set the bowl in the center of a serving platter. Garnish fritters and sauce with chive blossom petals or snipped chives.
Think you’ll try these insanely-delicious fritters? You can let me know by leaving a comment. As always, an angel rings a bell whenever anyone posts their thoughts here.
Don’t miss anything at A Garden for the House…sign up for Kevin’s weekly newsletter.
Related Posts:
How I Freeze Zucchini
Classic Zucchini-Jack Casserole
Chive Blossom Vinegar
Thank you! Thank you! These look delicious, I can’t wait to try these.
What she said!
Yum!!
Thanks Kevin! Can’t wait to try this. I finally get to file my old recipe for zucchini pancakes made with (GAG) Bisquick in the circular file. This would be perfect with fresh caught perch filets or even for breakfast with scrambled eggs.
Erin, Tracy, & Terry – If you try these fritters, let me know how they work out for you.
Susan – Yes to all those ideas.
These look positively yummy, Kevin! Can’t wait to harvest some zukes and try it. Your’e such an amazing resource, you know that?
You know, I never thought to make them IN a batter!!! I always assumed to make the patties, coat with flour & egg, and fry. Always messy. This procedure is MUCH easier! And fritters are the only way I can get my DH to eat zucchini… which naturally I’m swimming in at the moment. I bet these would be fantastic fried in squash flowers too! Mmmm…
I don’t have chives, but I *do* have arugula flowers! Yum yum…
Tammy – What nice words to read! Thank you.
Donna B. Yes, much easier this way. And yes to squash blossoms!
These are one of my most favorite “made by Kevin” things yet!!!! Crispy outside, tender moist inside…. Love the lemon zest-(I would never have thought of that!) Added a sunny pop of flavor…. just delicious!!!!! Makes me wish my zucchini supply was more abundant this year!!!!
I’ve got 4 zucchini plants in my garden because we use it so many ways. I’ve need a good fritter recipe! Thanks for posting this. I’ll be make it within the next few days. Looks absolutely yummy!
This looks great and I’ll be trying them. I also loved your instructions for freezing zucchini and summer squash — I overplanted, and the squash borers didn’t step up to do their job, so I will have squashes/zucchini coming ouf of my ears for the rest of the summer!
Here’s one more reader who really appreciates your timely posts, Kevin! I’m growing an urban garden (everyone in my condo association gets a deeded 7″ x 20″ plot), and you are one of my best resources!
I have a very similar recipe. We use a 50/50 split of cornmeal and flour for a bit of extra crunch. Any fresh herb is great. I made them on Monday using fresh tarragon and oregano. I think the only significant difference in our recipes is that you use half the baking powder.
One of my favorite comfort veggie dishes. Good with applesauce too, if you don’t want sour cream.
Brenda – T’was my pleasure. Thanks so much for taste-testing the fritters and their lemon-icious dipping sauce!
Karen Yost – If you make these fab fritters, please let me know how they turn out for you.
BookieBookie – Those veggie plots must be a great enticement for people to buy into your condo. Where do you live?
pennifer – Yes, these are essentially latkes without the potatoes. I can only imagine how good they’d be with applesauce.
Eating them now , simply delicious !!!
And the lemon gives a sophisticated taste , oh wonderful,
Thank you
I’m just outside of Boston, Kevin. There are only 7 units in the building, and they’re all sold. One of my neighbors was in Europe in May-June, so I planted their plot with 7 different varieties of sunflowers (now starting to flower) plus some beans, a tomato plant and a mini-pumpkin plant for their kids, and threw in a zucchini and a squash seed that are now bearing. Such fun!
The best thing is, they’re home now and can take over the weeding. Japanese knotweed. Ugh. We’re infested with it. Any remedies for that (besides digging it out one million times)?
Angela – So glad you tried — and liked — the fritters! I find them utterly addictive!
BookieBookie – I’m engaged in a war with Japanese knotweed here, too. And I’m determined to win. Every time new growth appears, I cut it down to the ground. Eventually the roots should give up. Eventually.
Our zucchini and other squashes are just getting started. Male flowers abound but finally a few females. My neighbors and I have been doing battle w/ the squash vine borer ( which I naively thought I had won a few weeks back) so it remains to be seen what our harvest will look like. I’m glad the neighbors started gardening as I thought in previous years I must have sounded like a crazy gardener in my obsession over this particular bug. Now they understand.
There are always the farmers’ markets to fall back on so I can try these amazing looking fritters if our plants get taken down. Still keeping my fingers crossed as I used every organic precaution and technique that I could. It’s a tough adversary though.
I made these for dinner tonight! Delicious!!!! (Not quite as good as yours…… ) Of course I had no sour cream, and am low on my homemade yogurt- so used a caramelized onion and dill dip I had on hand from a recent party- quite nice! I will be making these often!
mrs. olson is hilarious. i had to watch a few others on youtube. “how can such a pretty wife make such terrible coffee.” i am in zone 3 at 6200 feet so we have a while yet till we get any zucchini from our garden. another good grated use is to make a pizza crust with the zucc. i do a rendition from moosewood cookbook and top it with chèvre and sun dried tomatoes. mmm
My husband turned vegan on me and I can’t use eggs….uggh! what else could I use to “glue” it altogether? If nothing comes to mind, I guess I will be enjoying this myself!
Kevin,
I’m going to make these tonight for a group of friends on our monthly dinner date. I can’t wait to taste them. I do have one question though… Will I mess up the recipe if I don’t put the flower and baking powder in a yellow bowl? Will a blue bowl work just as well?
Flour… Oops!
And, my little smiley face didn’t show up to let you know I was kidding! I’m looking forward to tasting these!
Patty – I’m not aware of an egg-substitute which would bind the fritter-ingredients together. But hopefully another reader will weigh in on a vegan-option.
Odyssey Michaels – In a pinch, yes, you could use a blue bowl. But only in a pinch.
A great and easy recipe! I always have tons!
Kevin, any reason a person couldn`t use Pumkins instead of Zuccs ? I have some sweet mini Casper white pumkins growing and some Phat Jacks, but no Zuccs this year. Maybe use some Nutmeg instead of pepper ? What do ya think ?
Kevin this is such a timely recipe…a gentleman whose allotment garden is overflowing with zucchini right now offered me as many as I could take. I only took 2 as I feared they would not last for me to eat them but I’m going to get more from him and try this lovely recipe.
Going to try these for breakfast Kevin, thanks! Patty, I’ll be using flax seed “egg” in mine. One tablespoon ground flax seed mixed in 3 tbs water, stir and let stand for 5 minutes or until eggy. Works in baking too.
patty, i know friends who use Ener G Egg Replacer. it is vegan and can be used in fritters.
I can attest, they are delicious. I had some Kevin made!! Very moist and a wonderful complex flavor
As it is midwinter here in NZ…….I will have to wipe the drool off my chin ( sorry that is a tad gross!), and make the REAL hot chocolate instead!! Needless to say these fritters are on my summer ‘must try’ list.
I do so enjoy your column, almost like having coffee and a chat in person!
Patty,
Not certain but ground flax seed soaked in water may work for you. It’s often used as an egg replacer as it kind of “gels”.
Hope you find what works for you!
Michelle in ID
I have the shredded zukes in my freezer to save for winter, but I think I will try these with fresh for now since I’m pretty much awash in zucchini.
olive oil is not for frying or saute. should only be added at the end of cooking to add flavour.
I use palm or coconut or vegetable oil to fry and butter to saute in. I tried your recipe with brown rice flour. the fritters came out great. thankyou
Great receipe and beautifully photographed!! Do you think it will work if I use a red bowl instead of a yellow one? Just kidding
It’s a brilliant idea to use up the zucchini glut, they always seem to be growing too fast! I recently tried a recipe for a zucchini frittata by Yottam Ottolenghi (you can find a picture on my blog at http://midihideaways.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/a-lady-in-waiting-and-other-tales-from-languedoc/ ) which used about the same amount of zucchini.
I made these last night and they were fab!! I used the George Foreman grill to re-heat the left overs this morning for breakfast, Yum! Next time I will add diced jalepenos:)
as for the egg substitute, use flax meal. I don’t remember the exact preportions but it says on the bag….I think it’s like 2TBS meal and 1/4 C water = 1 egg. I have used this in cake recipes and it works great:)
I made these tonight. The lemon dipping sauce was fabulous, as were the fritters. Wish I had some zucchini planted instead of the lumpy yellow squash that I grew instead.
Kevin,
I did make these for my dinner party and they were a complete hit. I am really looking forward to making them again. Thanks for the recipe. I will be passing this along to others.
Kevin, I have a family wedding coming up in August and I’ve been eating low carb. I made your recipe with almond flour and they were great. I no longer buy the expensive almond flour. I grind up my own almonds in the Quisinart. I love having another way to use my squash from the garden. Thanks for the idea and thanks too for the printable version.
I made these last night with yellow squah, zucchini, and red potatoes and my grandchildren, age three and four gobbled them down. It makes me so happy when I find a new way to get them to eat more vegetables! I will be riffing on this recipe for a long time. Thanks so much!
“…In a small yellow bowl…” Kevin, you always make me crack up. Thank you! And I can’t wait to try these; the recipe is a second bonus to reading your page.
I am going to make some this week. thank you!
Wonderful recipe, I’m going to the garden right now and have fritters today. Thank u, A. Dail
I made these and they WERE angelic. Thank you, Kevin.
Thought you might like to see the post I did on these, with reference to your recipe. They are amazing, and even better (I think) with corn, red onion and garlic in the mix!
Meryl – Thanks for the thumbs up concerning corn- red onion- and garlic-variation! And thank you for linking this recipe on your lovely site!
KEVIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have always had a very strict NO SQUASH policy. The smell of squash cooking turns my stomach, and my mother always made us eat the nasty stuff any time she fixed it. HOWEVER, on Monday, I attended a tasting event at Carrabba’s (yes, a chain, I know…), and one of the tasting dishes was fried zucchini strips. I tried them, just to be polite. O M G delish, esp w/ lemon drizzled over…but I digress. I decided to try your recipe tonight, with the following changes:
1. I used yellow onion instead of chives, because I had it in the house and I don’t like chives.
2. I added 1 small clove of garlic, pressed.
3. Added two dashes of nutmeg, and next time will prolly double that amount.
4. For the sauce, I used half plain Greek yogurt and half sour cream and added a small clove of garlic (pressed).
YUMYUMYUMYUM!!!!!!
Question: can you freeze the fritter batter? There are only two of us here, and that’s a heckuvalotta batter…
Thanks!
MicronCat – sounds delish. I don’t know if you can freeze the batter, but you can certainly freeze the fritters.
i heard the angels sing!! i look forward each sunday to this newsletter – thank you for all you do!!
ps – i used a medium sized yellow bowl and the batter still turned out fine…
I made this fritters and my kids, who are absolutely fed up with zuccini, gobbled them up! I served these fritters with grilled salmon and a salad. Thank you sooooo much!!! I really appreciate your website.
I am going to make the biscuits next. XOXO
This gardening tip might be too late for some, but I have had great success battling squash vine borer using bacillus thuringiensis, an organic pesticide that affects only the caterpillars of butterflies and moths (the squash vine borer is a moth). I regularly spray the stems of all of my squash, including zucchini, as well as cantaloupe, especially after a rain. I keep a solution of it in a spray bottle in the refrigerator, along with the bottle of Hi-Yield brand concentrate which will last for years (it is a live bacteria culture which must be kept refrigerated or will die before it can all be used).
This doesn’t affect squash bugs, but I destroy any of their egg clusters I find them on the leaves and hand-pick any nymphs or adults as I find them.
Hi Hoosier John – Thanks for the BT tip! Did you spray only until mid-July or so?
I’ve made corn fritters but never thought about zucchini and you recipe & photos look divine. I also love the lemon in sour cream (I’ll try yogurt, too) as a dip. Thank you so much.
Made the fritters today for lunch (finally). They are delicious. I had a pot of tomato sauce on the stove so I tried that as a dipping sauce. It can be alternative for people who don’t like the sour cream (are there people like that?) or just don’t want the calories. I still prefer the sour cream sauce. Delicious!!!
Arlene Bice – If you make the fritters, please let me know how they turn out for you.
Grazyna – So glad to hear you like the fritters. I’m madly in love with them, too!
Glad I have a yellow bowl, so I can make this recipe. It sounds wonderful and I have the stuff.. lunch today!!!!! Thank you.
Deborah Morrison – Yes, good thing you have all the ingredients, including the absolutely-necessary yellow bowl. If you have a moment, let me know how the fritters turned out for you.
I would like a copy of the zucchini fritter recipe.
Fantastic! I made these sometime ago and forgot to comment on how well the family enjoyed them! So, definitely a winner.
O~M~Goddess, what a deliciously divine way to use homegrown zucchini..
Nanelle – There is a copy-and-paste version of the recipe above. It’s located after the pictures.
Ratridevi Lilith – So glad you and your family enjoyed the fritters, and that you took the time to tell me so!
I like to keep track of my recipes via Living Cookbook, it does everything you could ever need for recipes and meal planning. AND each of these beauties have approximately 85 calories!!! Based on a yield of 15 fritters, for 20 fritters the calories decrease.
I love them more now than I did before!!
I love your newsletter and recipes.
asproulla from Cyprus (the island in the eastern Med, not the town in Florida…)
I CAN’T WAIT TO TRY THESE POTATO CROQUETTES! FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS I HAVE BEEN MAKING MY MOTHER-IN-LAW’S RECIPE FOR TURKEY CROQUETTES AND THEY ARE JUST WONDERFUL, SO I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING TO MAKE THESE POTATO ONES. THANK YOU FOR THE RECIPE.
I think I will make these tomorrow, it has been a long time since I made any type of fritters.
I am so hungry I would make them not but do not have all the supplies.
Hi Kevin– Even if I don’t make your recipes, I LOVE reading them! They (you) make me smile! Thanks
Clarice
OMG THESE ARE ANGELIC and absolutly ADDICTIVE!!! Thank you Kevin!!! You ROCK!!
Kevin – I have an orange bowl – not yellow – will that be okay?
Luv
Diana