When it came time to plant your garden, let me guess? You planted a zucchini plant or maybe two or three. “I love zucchini bread!” you thought. “I’ll grill up zucchini with some chicken and it will be awesome!” you said. And let me guess, after consuming the first armload of zucchini, you never wanted to see, let alone taste, that squishy squash again. Well, if this is you, I am here to offer some counsel because this was me too.
We came home from vacation and found THREE zucchinis the size of my 6-month-old son. No joke – take a look! After eating 1/3 of the first one I was certain I couldn’t eat sautéed squash again for a while, so I began to look up recipes.
I made a recipe for Lone Star Farm (whose beef we sell in the market) using shredded zucchini in taquitos. You really can’t even taste the zucchini, I promise. I also threw some shredded zucchini into quesadillas and was quite happy with the results. This is good news too, because I often feel that when I make Tex-Mex food like this it lacks green vegetables.
I wondered if I could find a recipe for zucchini boxties (Irish potato pancakes). I Googled around but couldn’t find any recipes that were exactly just plain zucchini boxties, so I had to improvise. I made them with just shredded zucchini, onion and garlic, some eggs, cornmeal cheese and salt. I used P.A.N. pre-cooked cornmeal because that’s what I had. I can’t vouch for the results of this with regular cornmeal, but I imagine it would be tasty too. The pre-cooked cornmeal seems to be a little crispier, so that may be the main difference. You could also just use regular flour, though I like the flavor of the cornmeal.
I believe this recipe could easily be made with frozen shredded zucchini, as could any of the recipes I mentioned. You may want to drain off some of the liquid when it thaws.
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups zucchini
- 1 Small white onion
- 1 Clove garlic
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 Cup Asiago cheese (or other, to your liking)
- 1 Cup (or more) P.A.N. pre-cooked cornmeal
- Oil for frying
Instructions:
In a food processor, grate zucchini, onion, garlic and cheeses (if needed). Transfer to a mixing bowl. Mix in eggs and cornmeal. Add more or less cornmeal until the mixture is no longer wet and you can form patties with your hands. This amount will vary depending on how watery your zucchini is, and whether it was fresh or frozen.
Add oil to a large skillet and turn heat to medium high. Add patties to skillet and cook until browned. Flip to brown on both sides.
Serve with crispy bacon and eggs for a savory breakfast, as a substitute for bread in chicken-avocado and honey mustard sandwiches, or as a side to soups.
