Zucchini Quinoa Fritters
Makes about 12
I like to make these with any surplus quinoa I might have which didn't make it into other dishes. I adore quinoa due to its bionic superfood qualities, but if you’re not a quinoa fan, you can just as easily use gluten-free flour (such as buckwheat) or regular wheat flour instead. For details on how to cook quinoa, see my quinoa salad recipe.
These are delicious served hot as a starter, or can be stored in the fridge for a week and munched on as a hearty and nutritious snack. The key is to squeeze out as much of the water as you can from the grated zucchini before you add the other ingredients, otherwise the mixture will be too wet.
Ingredients:
4 cups of grated zucchini (about 3 zucchini)
2 eggs
2 cups of cooked quinoa (or buckwheat or wheat flour if you prefer)
1 white onion (finely chopped)
1 tsp of coconut oil or olive oil (for the pan)
1 small red chili – if you like it spicy (finely chopped)
1 tsp of ground coriander
salt and pepper to season
Method:
1. First grate the zucchini and place it in a large bowl. With your hands, squeeze the zucchini and drain off as much of the liquid as you can.
2. Next beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add them to the zucchini once beaten.
3. Then add all the other ingredients – the chopped onion, the flour or quinoa, the chili, coriander, salt and pepper. Mix well until all combined.
4. Then place the oil a frying pan and turn the stove up to a medium to high heat. Once the oil has melted or starts to crackle, scoop about two-three spoonfuls at a time into the pan per fritter, as if you were making mini pancakes. I recommend spacing the fritter about 3cm apart so that they don’t run into each other.
5. Sautee them for about 3 minutes before flipping them over and continue to cook for 2 minutes until they are golden brown.
6. Remove the first batch from the pan onto a plate covered in kitchen towel so soak up any excess oil.
7. Continue with batch two – adding more oil if needed – until you have used up all the mixture.