Zucchini Cakes with Feta

Here we are in August, and summer is in full swing. Our kitchen remodeling project is almost over, with maybe another week to go. Who knows? We have been escaping to the mountains while my floors are being redone. I feel so fortunate that we are able to do that. The mountain keeps me sane during these troubled times.

Pinecrest Lake

One of my first COVID projects was to revitalize my little vegetable garden that had been suffering from severe neglect. Two new planter boxes with fresh soil (and high enough for me to sit on) have turned it into a flourishing garden. For the first time, my zucchini plants are producing a fair amount of fruit. Yes, botanically speaking, zucchinis are fruits, bearing a type of botanical berry called a “pepo.” The zucchini itself is the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower. Thanks, Wikipedia!  Courgettes as they are called in other countries are the most versatile of squashes. You can fry them, roast them, bake them into bread, and substitute them for pasta. The possibilities are endless.

I would love to get some of your favorite recipes. I remember bringing the zucchini seeds to my mom decades ago. She loved them and turned her zucchinis into soup. For every zucchini lover there is a zucchini loather. I am a lover, my husband is a hater, so he won’t touch anything made with zucchini. But he will grill them for me, brushed with a little bit of olive oil and garlic salt. Maybe some day I will find a recipe he will like. In the meantime, I will enjoy my bounty and share my zucchinis with my friends and neighbors.

In this post, I will share a recipe for zucchini patties (or fritters as some people call them) with you. I decided on a recipe from the New York Times that uses feta cheese in them. It also reminded me of the Turkish-inspired Moosewood recipe. There is always some extra feta in my fridge, because I buy it at Costco. They give a lot, but it is oh so delicious. I wanted some protein in the cakes because I love to eat them as a snack throughout the day. Once they become leftovers, they are no longer crispy but still very good and filling. I like them cold or at room temperature. For a topping, I mixed yogurt with some grated garlic and salt. I ate them with lox, a low-carb lunch or dinner. I had some extra romesco sauce which was delicious with the zucchini cakes. They were perfect with some grilled chicken thighs.

Zucchini Cakes with lox and yoghurt and romesco sauce

Zucchini cakes with grilled chicken thighs

If you are one of the zucchini loathers, then try my potato, salmon or crab cakes. Click on the photo for the link.

Salmon Cakes

Spicy Dungeoness Crab Cakes

German Potato Pancakes ( Kartoffel Puffer)

You can grate the zucchini in the food processor, but I choose to do it with a grater. The zucchini has to be drained in a colander and then squeezed out on a dish towel to get out all the excess water (do not skip this step). I had quite a bit of excess water when I drained the zucchini (more than a cup). Smitten Kitchen recommends that you always use a cast iron frying pan to make “crispy fritters” as she calls them. Mine were not especially crispy, except for the outer ends. I assume that Smitten Kitchen used more oil than I did and her recipe uses only one egg. I also used more than a pound of zucchini (two fat ones). The original recipe only uses one pound. The original recipe also calls for dill, but I used chives instead. If you choose to use dill, put in some scallions to get the onion flavor. I could also see some mint in this recipe. If you make these cakes for a crowd, keep them warm in a preheated oven (250 degrees). But I like to eat them when they come right out of the pan. The leftovers make a great snack.

Print Recipe

Ingredients :
​
(makes 10-12 pancakes) 

1-1 ½ pound zucchinis (2 or 3 zucchinis depending on size)
a generous amount of salt
​freshly ground pepper
a smidge of ground nutmeg 
3 smallish eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup flour
½ tsp baking powder 
1/3 cup chopped chives or dill 
2-4 TBS vegetable oil for frying, more if needed











​The Yogurt Sauce

1 cup Greek yogurt
2-3 cloves garlic, grated 
salt and lemon juice to taste

Directions:
​
Trim the ends (but do not peel the zucchini) and grate them on the large holes in a grater. Put the grated zucchini in a colander over a bowl and generously sprinkle with salt. Let it drain for about 20-30 minutes and then squeeze out as much juice a possible with a kitchen towel. 
In the meantime, mix the flour with the baking powder. Put the drained zucchini in a bowl and add more salt to taste. Stir in the eggs, dill, nutmeg, pepper, and mix well. Add the feta and flour mixture. 
In a large skillet, heat the pan and the oil until it shimmers. Drop a heaping tablespoon of zucchini batter in frying pan several inches apart. Flatten them a little bit with a spatula and fry until golden brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes each side. If they brown too quickly, turn your heat down to medium. Put them on a plate lined with a paper towel and keep them warm in a preheated oven (250 degrees) while you fry the rest. Add additional oil if needed. 


The Yogurt Sauce:
Combine all the ingredients and serve with the pancakes. 


Guten Appetit!
Recipe from NYT
​adapted by©Sunnycovechef.com