Zucchini

Zucchini is a very versatile vegetable. One of my favorite memories is watching my mom make zucchini bread in our kitchen. We also would make fried zucchini together. We would chop the zucchini in rounds, dip in a egg, flour, and spice mixture, and then fry on each side until golden brown. It was just as heavenly as it sounds. To this day, I have not found zucchini bread nearly as good as my mom’s- I will have to get her secret recipe sometime. Zucchini is cheap, easy to use, and has that fresh-from–the-garden flavor. Zucchini Cakes are a Greek dish that isn’t hard to make and does not take long. Try this recipe when you feel like trying a new side dish.


Zucchini Cakes

Ingredients

Zucchini (chopped or grated) about 1 pound
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic (jarred and packed in water)
2 tablespoons fresh oregano (chopped)
1 large egg
2 cup Feta cheese
4 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon fresh dill (chopped)

Directions

Grate the zucchini into large bowl. Put in colander and rinse under water. Strain and then squeeze out water in paper towels. Mix zucchini in a large bowl with salt and pepper. Set aside for a few minutes. Stir cheese, egg, dill, oregano, flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in zucchini. Preheat olive oil in frying pan. Form the zucchini into small or large cakes and then fry on each side in olive oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and add more salt and pepper to taste.

Feta Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Ingredients

4 zucchini (about 6 inches long) cut in half
1 egg
Olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic (chopped and packed in water)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup feta cheese
Freshly ground pepper
Sea salt
½ large white onion chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a pan with olive oil. Rinse the zucchini in cold water and move to a cutting board. Cut and discard a ½ inch strip out of the center of each zucchini- being careful not to cut all the way through. Stir together the onion, egg, flour, garlic, salt, pepper, and feta cheese in a large bowl. Using a small spoon, scoop out the feta mixture and stuff each zucchini boat to your liking. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.