My obsession with savory pancakes continues.  This time with a Greek influence.  I got the recipe for these pancakes from Chef Michael Symon’s book Live to Cook:  Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen.  I borrowed it from the library based on this recipe and a whole chapter on pickles (which is my other current obsession).  These pancakes, like the Asian-inspired savory pancakes in my prior post, are quick, easy and delicious.

I started out with these two different types of zucchinis that I found in my CSA Box.  Don’t they kind of look like the Burt & Ernie of the vegetable world?  Anyway, I grated them on a box grater.  Placed them on a clean kitchen towel and liberally salted them.

I let them sit while I minced a clove of garlic, chopped a bit of scallion, and zested a lemon.  I mixed the zucchini, garlic, scallion, lemon zest, and a bit of chopped feta cheese in a bowl.  Then, added an egg and 3 tablespoons of all purpose flour.  The original recipe included some fresh chopped dill and fresh chopped mint.  I think these would be a great addition to this dish; but, I didn’t have them at my house and I was too hungry to go to the store buy the herbs and then eat.

I mixed all of the ingredients together.  Then, I heated a bit of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Now, Chef Symon added 1/4 inch of canola oil to the pan in his recipe.  I really can’t handle using that much oil.  Don’t get me wrong — I like fried foods; but, I don’t like my house to smell like a KFC.  So, I coated the bottom of the pan with oil.  This worked fine.

I cooked the pancakes for about 4 minutes on each side.

They came out nice and crispy.  I topped them with a bit of Greek yoghurt, some lemon zest, chopped scallions, and a bit of coarse sea salt.  You could make a meal of this dish by adding soup or salad.  Or, you can do what I did — eat seven of them at a time which makes for a fulfilling (but, a bit decadent) meal.  This would be nice finger food for a party.  This also is a good recipe for kids.  Your children could easy help make them and they are crisp, cheesy, and salty so it is highly likely they won’t noticed that they are made of zucchini.

Zucchini Pancakes with Feta & Lemon

Adapted from Chef Michael Symon’s How to Cook

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh mint (optional)

1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh dill, plus whole dill for garnish (optional)

1 large scallion, white and green parts, sliced on the bias

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper

4 ounces of feta cheese, coarsely chopped or crumbled

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 large egg

3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

Canola oil — enough to coat the bottom of the pan

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

Coarse sea salt, for garnish

1.  Grate the zucchini on the large holes of a grater onto a clean kitchen towel.  Sprinkle with the kosher salt and let it rest while you gather and prep the rest of the ingredients.

2.  Wrap the zucchini in the towel and wring as much liquid out of it as possible, discarding the liquid.  In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, scallion, garlic, pepper, feta, and all but about 1 teaspoon of the zest.  If you are using mint and/or dill add them now.  Stir in egg and flour and mix until well combined.

3.  Add the canola oil to a large shallow pan — just coat the bottom of the pan.  Place the pan over medium-high heat.  Form the pancakes in your hands or using a 1/4 cup measure, and fry them in hot oil in batches.  Cook until the pancakes are golden brown on each side, about 4 to 6 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towels.

4.  Transfer the pancakes to plates or a platter and garnish with a dollop of Greek yoghurt, a sprinkling of dill (optional), the reserved lemon zest, and some coarse sea salt.