You know how when the sun shines fiercely down and you feel a mild burning sensation from its rays – I love it. I revel in it, I embrace it, and let’s be honest it is the only reason that I am not deathly pale for a few months of the year. And those days are here – woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a warm weather baby, born in the desert, raised in a hot city by the sea. I was not designed for winters. And rain? Rain in my mind was a stupendous deluge that is heavy and oddly warm and lasts for a few days, just enough to flood the streets, knock out the power, and inspire my mother to go on a ‘pakora’ frying frenzy.
Point is welcome back Mr. Sun, you have been sorely missed! Warm days are here again and for Zara and I that means playing outside every day and after hours of being outside a curry does not always cut it. These Zucchini and Corn Pancakes – they really do. The original recipe is from King Arthur Flour, but I came across it on the lovely Girl Versus Dough blog here. Check out her amazing collection of recipes and drool worthy photos!
I have been making Zucchini Latkes for a long time, but the secret to a good latke is draining the moisture out of the zucchini which means it does take some time. These zucchini pancakes were a breeze though, took me 15 minutes to throw together, and made for a lovely dinner with some salsa and sour cream. They are also part of my continued efforts to get Zara to try something new – I wish I could say she wolfed a stack down, but she ate one without complaining and for my tot that is practically a miracle.
When I made some for myself I snipped very small pieces of green chillies on top and loved that touch of spice. If I was not making them for Zara as well I may have felt the urge to add a liberal dose of hot sauce. Feel free to add those in or omit, whatever floats your boat.
Zucchini Corn Pancakes
10 pancakes
4 large eggs, beaten
¼ cup olive oil
2 tsp salt
½ tsp ground pepper
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
3 cups grated zucchini (about one large zucchini)
1 cup fresh sweet corn off the cob or frozen corn
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or your favorite cheese – I used a Tex Mex mix)
1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Grate your Zucchini and set aside. Sometimes just looking at grated Zucchini makes me happy.
In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs. Whisk to combine. Add the zucchini, corn and cheddar cheese and stir thoroughly with a spatula.
Add the flour and stir until thoroughly combined and there are no pockets of dry flour hiding in the batter. That flour can be a little sneaky so pay close attention.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet or griddle to medium-high heat, adding a very small amount of oil to the skillet/griddle. I found that I really needed only drops of oil to make this work. Scoop about ¼-cupfuls of batter onto the skillet and flatten, if necessary, into a circle about 4 inches in diameter. Cook on each side about 3-4 minutes, or until a deep golden brown.
Remove from skillet and transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter.
Mmm, it's been so long since I've made this but I need to change that! Yours look perfect! That's it -- off to buy the ingredients. 🙂
You know what I think my favorite part of this was? I made somewhat bigger ones with my leftover batter and threw them in the toaster the next day and they were AMAZING!
Made these the other day and loved them! My boys weren't on board but that just meant more for me 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Asiya! You rock! Re: the boys, I'm sorry, it gets frustrating to cook and then not have it enjoyed/appreciated:/
Making these tonight Sarah along with soup. You blog has been my saviour 🙂