The Crisper Whisperer: Zucchini and Corn Fritters Rule the World. For Reals
Note: If you're a CSA member or gardener, you're probably all too familiar with the phenomenon of having too much X, Y, or Z (zucchini seems to be the culprit right now). This post marks the debut of Carolyn Cope's Crisper Whisperer column in which the author helps us cook through the surplus with ease. Please join us in giving Carolyn a warm welcome! --AK
Photographs by Carolyn Cope
Look, I love my CSA as much as the next girl. In fact, I run my CSA--so you might say I love it even a smidge more than most. Unadulterated local veg holds a special place in my heart for all the same reasons it probably does in yours. But have you noticed what your seemingly innocent produce has been up to recently? It's become an overnight success, that's what. And like any other fledgling celebrity, it's wreaking some havoc along the way.
Zucchini is the Brangelina of seasonal produce. It reproduces like mad and is inherently and unabashedly plural.
For the most part, your farm share has kept its knickers on and refrained from driving under the influence (although of course you do see the odd story of brandy-soaked peach flambés from time to time, and there's more after the break on why that zucchini is having babies with everyone in sight). No, your local veg's unbranded brand of mayhem is subtler than all that, but it's ultimately more destructive. Those plants have wrapped their sly little tendrils around the collective consciousness and brainwashed us all into near-total submission.
Think about it. When was the last time you heard a friend--intelligent, opinionated individuals though your friends undoubtedly are--dare utter a word against The Veg? It's become so altogether unhip to do so, you simply haven't heard it at all. Even when farmers' markets and CSA shares runneth over with fuzzy squash, New Zealand spinach, and salad burnet, everyone just smiles, nods and acts like they're about to go home and whip up the loveliest stir-fry you've ever tasted in five minutes flat. That's not normal, people--and more important, it's just not true.
The truth looks more like this.
A guiltily discarded turnip, left to decompose in the fridge through too many late nights at work, beats like a tell-tale heart under the floorboards of Apartment 6B's dreams. Three flights up, an otherwise reasonable 9E will look you straight in the eyes and say she used last week's share of horseradish in homemade cocktail sauce. Only after a few glasses of wine will she admit to having thrown it away. In your trash.
Over time, the stress of keeping up appearances will become too much for even the hardiest of souls. And that's when vegetable world domination will be complete.
Dolphins showed us years ago that you don't need opposable thumbs to rule the world, but I think the human race could be forgiven for assuming you needed a brain. Turns out, not so much. (Although I guess we could've learned that lesson from watching some prior stories of overnight celebrity as well.)
So. We've got to act now to regain control over our vegetables and ourselves. And act we will, one vegetable at a time. Right here, every Tuesday--typically a little lighter on the conspiracy theory and heavier on the easy recipes and helpful tips for enjoying your CSA and other seasonal bounty.
Although you've seen a lot of zucchini on this site in the past couple of weeks, no honest story of wresting control from the arms of summer abundance could start anywhere else and face itself in the morning. Zucchini is the Brangelina of seasonal produce. It reproduces like mad and is inherently and unabashedly plural.
When they borrowed the word from the Italian, English speakers wisely dispensed with the singular "zucchino," realizing they would never use it. There's no such thing as just one zucchini, see? Not anywhere. Not ever.
Luckily there is such a dinner (or a lunch, or, made small, a passed hors d'oeuvre) as Zucchini and Corn Fritters, which feel indulgent while pumping you full of nothing but summer goodness. They absorb a truly helpful amount of zucchini with minimal effort and time at the stove, especially if you have a food processor. All of which comes in handy when you're trying to save the world from death by fruiting.
Zucchini and Corn Fritters
- serves 4 -
Ingredients
4 cups shredded zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 ears corn
1 small onion, diced small
3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
3/4 cup flour
A few good grinds of black pepper
Canola, grapeseed or other neutral oil, for pan-frying
Sour cream or Greek yogurt, for serving
Procedure
1. Shred the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater or with the shredding disc of a food processor. Place the shredded zucchini in a colander in the sink or over a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Toss to combine. Let drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and scramble lightly. Cut the kernels from the corn cobs and add the kernels to the bowl along with the diced onion, sliced scallions, chopped cilantro, flour and pepper.
3. Pick up the shredded zucchini in small handfuls and squeeze out and discard as much liquid as you can. Add the zucchini to the bowl. Mix well to combine.
4. Pour the oil into a large frying pan to a depth of about 1/4-inch. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Drop large, heaping spoonfuls of the zucchini mixture into the pan to form disc-shaped fritters. Cook in batches without crowding (about 3 or 4 at a time, depending on the size of your pan) until golden brown on the underside (about 2 minutes) and then flip and cook until golden brown on the second side. Remove to paper towels to drain. Add a bit more oil between batches if necessary.
5. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt. The fritters should be crisp on the outside and slightly custardy on the inside.
About the author: Carolyn Cope writes Umami Girl and manages a CSA in Hoboken, New Jersey.
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38 Comments:
Welcome. Death by fruiting... haha. Reminds me of... is it Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire calling it a drive by fruiting when he throws something at Pierce Brosnan's head?
lexophile at 8:40AM on 08/18/09
A run-by fruiting! Pardon me. I knew I was getting something wrong. :)
lexophile at 8:45AM on 08/18/09
This looks great! It reminds me of zucchini latkes my dad makes.
Another quick and easy way to use up those zucchini is to use a peeler to make long zucchinin ribbons and then saute them in olive oil with some garlic and cherry tomatoes.
orchidgirl at 8:46AM on 08/18/09
"The Brangelina of seasonal produce." Heh. Nice debut, Carolyn! Looking forward to more.
Adam Kuban at 9:01AM on 08/18/09
zucchini is so underrated yet is such a summery vegetable. You can make a 'raw' spaghetti dish out of it as well!
gargupie at 9:11AM on 08/18/09
Hallelujah~ I'm guilty of CSA veg neglect. I've got a shriveled kohlrabi in the crisper drawer that I can't bring myself to toss into the compost pile.
I'm going to be so disappointed if I don't get zucchini and corn in my share tomorrow!
Cassaba at 9:28AM on 08/18/09
I make these sans the corn and cilantro, but with a dusting of cumin. And I spike my yogurt with lime zest and juice. I believe it was orginally a Simply Recipes recipe, but these days I just throw stuff in a bowl and hope it turns out. Such is life in my kitchen.
meleyna at 9:39AM on 08/18/09
I also have a half-kohlrabi in the fridge! I meant to use it in a soup and forgot.
sillygirl at 10:05AM on 08/18/09
lol, I still have some kohlrabi too. IT's getting a bit wrinkly looking, but it's still firm, so I can't get myself to toss it, but I also can't seem to bring myself to use it. Maybe I should braise something.
simon at 10:23AM on 08/18/09
btw, love this new feature.
simon at 10:23AM on 08/18/09
is anyone else completely baffled at the comment about dolphins taking over the world?
I seem to have missed some sort of major pop culture reference.
BananaMonkey at 11:00AM on 08/18/09
Yum! These sound awesome. And yay for Carolyn on Serious Eats!
For a twist, you could do these with part rice flour for a sort of pa jeon...delicious.
maggiej at 11:36AM on 08/18/09
@bananamonkey... Might be from Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. Their superior intellect is touted in that book/movie.
lexophile at 11:36AM on 08/18/09
This fritter technique can be used with nearly any kind of shredable vegetable--squash, parsnip, rutabega, potato, carrot, &c, &c. The most important thing is the egg and flour to hold everything together--the rest is just seasoning. Also, if you don't like frying, you can make the batter a little looser and cook it on a griddle like a pancake. Also, skordalia makes an excellent accompaniment aside from sour cream or yogurt.
slogger at 11:38AM on 08/18/09
Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! Looks like a kohlrabi edition sometime soon would be useful. Maybe a shriveled kohlrabi edition.
@bananamonkey The Onion had a fabulous article on dolphins evolving opposable thumbs and taking over the world a while back. Is that not a real newspaper?
Carolyn Cope at 11:41AM on 08/18/09
HA! Although I'm guilty of tossing, I'm also famous for cooking my CSA items that I can't remember what they are (or were...) just so I'm not wasting Earth's bounty!
awoodard at 2:08PM on 08/18/09
Beautifully written, C! Love the Brangelina reference! :o) You amaze me, as usual!!! Congrats! Can't wait to read next weeks article.
njscrapdiva at 2:37PM on 08/18/09
I've got all the ingredients and have been looking at zucchini fritter and pancake recipes this past week.
This one is the winner!
Excellent.
CJ McD at 3:10PM on 08/18/09
great new feature! I, too, am guilty of CSA neglect. Especially the kale and collards - it seems like we get one or the other every single week and I am getting a little tired of just sautéing with garlic and olive oil. Any ideas?
ambienttra at 4:04PM on 08/18/09
Welcome, Carolyn. I'm looking forward to more veggie tales, straight from the source. I'm sorry you were welcomed with chapters from "True Stories of Kohlrabi Neglect."
I had no idea there is such rampant kohlrabi neglect and abuse in our midst. Oh, the shame, the shame. Think of all the starving people who'd be happy just to have a sliver of. . .ooops. Sorry about that. Sometimes I can't put a lid on my inner mom. Along with Sneak a Zucchini on Your Neighbor's Porch Night, maybe we should have Sneak a Kohlrabi into a Friend's Crisper Day.
Yum: Kohlrabi (or zucchini, for that matter), raw, dipped into lemony mayo or creamy garlic dressing. Sliced like bamboo shoots and used in stir fries. Sliced into matchsticks for slaw. Sliced, again, like bamboo shoots, for chicken-kohlrabi soup, omitting the noodles. Used whole, halved or quartered in New England boiled dinners or with corned beef and cabbage. Stuffed cabbage, with finely chopped kohlrabi added to the ground-beef-rice-tomato-onion filling. I'm sure you could use it as a substitute for the zucchini in this fritter recipe.
I have a confession to make. (Voice of Sideshow Bob) I, too, was a kohlrabi neglector. It began gradually, first with leafy greens, but I quickly graduated to the hard stuff---zucchini (who knew that one plant could produce 50 or more squash?), then kohlrabi. Sure, I tried to hide it, using opaque plastic grocery bags to store them in the back of the vegetable bin, but someone always found out, usually my husband, holding up a beige plastic bag with neon green slime and grey-green water oozing from it and politely announcing, "Hon, I think I found the source of that smell." Slowly, with help from a next-door neighbor who grew kohlrabi and with the support of a vegan friend, I saw the wastefulness of my ways. If I can do it, anyone can. I'm finally free of vegetable-induced guilt and terror. Not having to disinfect the vegetable crisper is good, but unshriveled kohlrabi is better.
betteirene at 2:46AM on 08/19/09
Back on track...
I made these last night; instead of cilantro, I added basil (seemed more ''in season'', add a ton more scalions (because I didn't have corn), added Parmasian cheese and curry powder to the mix! I also cooked them a bit longer than they recommend, they go crispier and darker, MMMMM!
Thanks for the recipe.
egghunt at 9:18AM on 08/19/09
I can SO use some help with The Veg overflow from my CSA. Great idea for a column Carolyn!
J. Bastien
jmommy at 10:15AM on 08/19/09
I made these last night and they were (still are) delicious!
Runningwithbeaters at 2:14PM on 08/19/09
Sorry, looked everywhere but could not find what CSA stands for. Probably right in front of my NOSE. The world is acronym crazy anymore. Thanks.
Willow Toth at 3:21PM on 08/19/09
@Willow Toth CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, where a farm or group of farms sells shares in its crops at the beginning of a growing season and then delivers those shares to its members throughout the season, usually weekly. There are CSAs for all sorts of foods including veggies, fruit, meat and dairy, but veggies are the most common.
Carolyn Cope at 3:27PM on 08/19/09
My Mutter's Kohlrabi recipe: Peel the kohrabi, cutting off all the woody bits too. Slice or cube, boil just covered in salted water for about 10 minutes, set aside some of the cooking water and the kohlrabi and make a roux with butter and flour in the bottom of your kohlrabi pot. Whisk it into a white sauce with some of the cooking water. Add kohlrabi, add freshly ground white pepper and salt to taste. I think of it as 'kohrabi farmstyle', so that goes with the CSA share, right.
brigittesm at 3:49PM on 08/19/09
Great new feature! Welcome Carolyn! This will make a fabulous supper using the spoils from the morning trip to the farmer's market.
absenteetexan at 5:38PM on 08/19/09
I never seem to find enough ways to use summer squash. Recently I've taken to chips, sautees, and luscious pasta toppers. But the best thus far, using the extra bits as you've done here, was in a crispy cake.
http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/2009/06/recipe-flash-zucchini-tofu-croquettes.html
I can't wait to try your recipe and use another one of summer's greatest spoils, corn. In place of yogurt, I used tofu since I'm lactose intolerant, but I can see how this would add a really excellent element of moisture to the fritter.
bravo!!
BigGirlPhoebz at 8:53PM on 08/19/09
Could you/how would you bake these in the oven?
THANKS!
JethroSpanks at 9:43PM on 08/19/09
LOL, OMG, I am LMA off here. Thanks for telling us what CSA meant, I was wondering also. I had seen that before but couldnt remember.
As for the "Sneak a Kohlrabi into your neighbor's crisper" Day. I have my own, tyvm, about 6 of them harvested about 6 weeks ago. They are starting to look a little mangy but I dont have the heart to throw them out yet.
As for the zucchini, we harvest every day and hubs always manages to miss a couple so you all know what happens to them. It is attack of the killer zucchini the next day. I think he has hurt his shoulder tossing them. We do a lot of things with them - SHARE THEM, make zucchini fritters with corn and without, eat them raw, shake with Bisquick and fry, but the best is sauteeing them up with leftover cut off corn on the cob. Saute in olive oil to begin with and then add a pat of butter at the end so it coats and makes everything look glossy and yummy.
Long live the zucchini gods!
Sherlie at 7:32AM on 08/20/09
Wow, after reading more comments, I learned some more. I didnt know you could cook kohlrabi. I thought all you would do was eat it raw. Well, if my six are still good, we will be trying something new this evening. Thank you and yes, we need more on kohlrabi. We need to spread the word. When I mention it, people look at me and say "What?'.
Sherlie at 7:40AM on 08/20/09
@ JethroSpanks
To bake the batter heat a cake pan with some oil in the over then, after a few minutes, poru the batter in and let it bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the bottom is browned and bubbling (you'll be able to see it on the sides). You may want to put it under the grill if the top didn't get enough color.
I gave up frying the batter when oil exploded all over my kitchen and, consequently, on me. Fresh corn is very hard to come by in France and I resorted to drained canned corn... too much water... not such a good idea.
the batter is still tasty when baked!
moonlyt at 4:27PM on 08/21/09
I've had zucchini fritters before but I just love the idea of adding corn, too. What a great summer dish. Yum!
SheRa at 12:16PM on 08/24/09
Made these last night and served with mixed greens and balsamic vinaigrette. Perfect light dinner!
The only change I would have made is adding some salt to the mixture before cooking the fritters - the salt from the zucchini doesn't really come through in the mixture.
smiths37 at 12:54PM on 08/24/09
AMAZING RECIPE! I love these fritters I made them sans cilantro (i'm not a fan) and substituted some garlic for the onion (missed it in the store) but they were wonderful! The salted zucchini with the sweet corn and a healthy dollop of some Fage yogurt sent me to heaven! Thanks for sharing,
orrlizzie at 2:52PM on 08/24/09
This look delicious and I LOVE the column. I adore zucchini and am, I think, the only one enjoying the surplus of it in my basket. Baked Zucchini & tomatoes anyone? Or, even better, Chocolate-Zucchini bundt cake!
TheNaptimeChef at 3:58PM on 08/24/09
Yes, please...further suggestions as to uses for kohlrabi! I only planted 6, ate two raw when young, gave two medium-sized away and now have two giant ones left languishing in the garden. A friend suggested I drill three holes in them and use them as bowling balls to knock down an array of "zucchini pins"!
EWhiskers at 5:37PM on 08/25/09
Love the bowling idea, and my husband used to play baseball with zucchini bats as a kid in real life. Next week's post will indeed be about kohlrabi!
Carolyn Cope at 6:01PM on 08/25/09