There may not be any more Chanukah candles to light, but I’m not done with my latkes!
Although I’ve gone a bit latke-crazy this Chanukah, the truth is that I make them at all times of the year, for no reason at all. Especially since we bought our food processor. That shredding blade gets the job done in about three seconds.
There’s something special about this batch of zucchini latkes, though: I finally drained my zucchini properly.
When I’ve worked with shredded zucchini in the past, I tried spooning out the liquid that collected at the bottom of the bowl…I tried placing everything in a colander and letting it drip down by itself…I tried taking the stuff in handfuls and squeezing over the sink.
This time, I let the shredded zukes sit for 10 minutes, then dumped it all in a (clean, lint-free) kitchen towel and squeezed for all I was worth. And boy, did it drain. Who knew there was so much juice in zucchini?
The result was a latke batter that actually had the consistency of a batter. Oh yeah, and crisp, crunchy, decidedly non-soggy latkes that were so good I wanted to squirrel them all away for myself.
I shared, though. And in case you were wondering, my husband — yep, the guy who doesn’t like zucchini — loved these.
Zucchini latkes
Barely tweaked from Smitten Kitchen
Yield: 13 smallish latkes (next time, I’ll double the recipe)
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchinis, shredded
- 1 tsp salt
- 2-3 scallions, sliced thinly
- 1 egg, beaten
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- canola oil, for frying
Update (4/05/12): Just tried these for Pesach and felt they needed some extra salt. Try adding a half-teaspoon to the batter (after you’ve squeezed out the zukes), and go from there.
Directions
1. Place shredded zucchini in a mixing bowl, toss with salt, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Wring out the zucchini by wrapping it up in a clean towel or piece of cheese cloth and squeezing out as much liquid as you can.
3. Return the deflated mass of zucchini shreds to the bowl. Stir in scallions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. Add flour and baking powder and mix well until you have a nice latke batter.
4. Cover the bottom of a large skillet with a few tablespoons of oil and heat until a water droplet sizzles upon contact. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet and use a spatula to flatten slightly. Fry three at a time until golden brown on each side, making sure your skillet has enough oil before adding new latkes.
5. Drain on paper towels to get rid of extra oil. Let the first ones cool for a few minutes, then sample and add more salt to the remaining batter if needed. Serve warm (they’re perfect with tzatziki, shown in the last photo).
