Jalapeno zucchini fritters
I’ve been eating mass quantities of veggies. My mom dropped off a big batch of homegrown beets, which lasted me all of a few days. Along with beets, I know zucchini season is arriving! Or maybe it has already? I love that point in the summer where everyone has way too much zucchini and is always trying to pawn it off on everyone else. I’ll take it!! I’ll make these! Or zucchini bread! Or zucchini pancakes! Or zucchini bread French toast!
These jalapeño zucchini fritters are a very close relative to the spicy zucchini fritters I posted years ago. I was going to just re-do the pictures in that post, but I ended up changing the recipe enough that I thought it warranted it’s own thing. Instead of using dry spices, this uses a whole, fresh jalapeño! You could throw in (or omit) any pepper you want to adjust for spiciness. Even with all of the seeds, these weren’t very spicy at all — but I think it was a tame jalapeño.
Just like the last time I made these, I had a hard time not eating them straight out of the pan! They’re so tasty! And definitely better warm. Honestly, they’re not the best when they’ve cooled, so eat ’em while they’re hot! I dipped them in good ol’ sour cream.
Jalapeno zucchini fritters
20 ounces zucchini (2-3 medium zucchinis)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons minced chives
1 whole jalapeño
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
Olive oil, for frying
sour cream
1. With a large box grater (or food processor with a shredding disk!), shred your zucchini. Toss it with 1 teaspoon salt and let it sit for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, either use the food processor or finely chop together the chives, jalapeño, and garlic.
3. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.
4. When the zucchini is ready, squeeze the excess liquid out of it either by wringing it in a cheese-cloth. Return the deflated zucchini shreds to a medium bowl.
5. Mix the egg and minced jalapeño/chives/garlic into the zucchini shreds, then add the dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. The mixture should be cohesive, not dry, but also not drippy. If you need more liquid, add milk one teaspoon at a time.
6. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is good and warmed up, drop large spoonfuls of the zucchini mixture into it. Gently flatten the fritters with the back of your spoon. Cook on each side for about 3 minutes: they should be a beautiful golden brown on each side. If this is happening too quickly, turn down the heat.
7. Keep them warm by transferring cooked fritters to a baking sheet in your oven, heated to 200 degrees F. Serve with sour cream, if desired.
Related post on The Kitchen Paper: Zucchini noodle carbonara
