Zucchini Fritters

We went to the eastern shore of Virginia to visit the huz's uncle. He is in an assisted living home and will turn 94 in June. We were reminiscing about the seafood places he had taken us to on the shore. At one of these places we had zucchini fritters as a side and they were so good, when we got home, we called and ask for the recipe and they gave it to us. His uncle was surprised to hear this because other people had asked the their requests had never granted it. He is pretty well known over there and assumed that they probably gave to us because of him along with the fact that we lived so far away and we promised never to reveal it. This is not the recipe, but how it has developed over the last 20 years or so. I know that I did zucchini for WHB last week, but we just has this and it is very good and worthy of bring to the forefront. It is the huz's favorite way to eat zucchini.




2 medium zucchini, shredded
2 medium shallots, shredded
2 cloves garlic, shredded
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tea baking powder
a pinch salt
enough fat free half and half to hold everything together
Oil for frying

Mix well. It should be the consistency of pancake batter. Cover the bottom of a skillet with canola oil and heat over medium heat until hot. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons into hot oil and sauté until brown, turning and browning on the other side. Drain well and eat fast!


This IS being submitted for weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by the creator Kalyn. Be sure to go to her blog for the weekly round-up which is always chock full of great ideas from food bloggers the world over.



We had them with chicken picatta which was a lovely combination. The recipe is already posted on the website.



Cheers!

Parsley and Pasta

Do you ever get in the mood for a food and you can't seem to get enough of it? It's been that way lately for me and pasta. No, this is not South Beach friendly. We did try it after it first came out. The first thing everyone needs to know is that every diet doesn't work for everyone. We were on it, very strictly, for 2 months. My husband, who has heart disease, had his cholesterol go UP 100 points in 2 months as a result
of the diet. It freaked his cardiologist out and he (we) can't follow it anymore. He (we) do try to limit the starches most of the time. But not this week.

First we had Broccoli Rabe with store bought pasta, noted in our previous blog. Then we tried Roasted Eggplant Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Sauce ala Tra Vigne.



Totally yummy. Roasting the eggplant, tomatoes and onions that went inside the ravioli then roasting the tomato sauce that sauced it make the flavors very intense. Being as eggplant is already the hus's favorite vegetable, this will become a staple, I am sure. Whole Foods had Sicilian Eggplant. They were huge, and even though I really object to the big seedy eggplants, I decided to try it. Hus thought it looked like a football. It really was very good and not very seedy considering the size.

We followed that with Spaghettini Squared, from the same cook book. It is spaghetti and zucchini spaghetti. You need a Benriner Spiral cutter. I don't have one but borrowed one from our wonderful neighbor, Marne, who is a very accomplished cook herself. (Hopefully, she's going to be part of my Entrée Vous venture.) The recipe was simple and it is below. I made the pasta and the dish turned out as a simple but delicious and beautiful way to eat pasta. If you don't have a spiral turner, you can julienne the zucchini with a Mandolin or cut it very very small with a knife.



Here's the recipe the way I cooked it. It is based on the recipe from Tra Vigne, by Michael Chiarella

Make a pound of spaghetti noodles (using 2 cups flour, 2 eggs, 2 T olive oil and enough water to hold it together.)

2 large zucchini
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
7 cloves garlic, minced
1 tea red pepper flakes
4 T basil, chiffonaded
3 T flat leaf parsley, minced
1/2 cup plus 2 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat water for pasta. Make pasta.

Cut zucchini into spirals and set aside.

Heat 1/4 c oil in large skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add garlic and saute until lightly starting to change color. Turn off heat and add pepper flakes. Quickly add basil and parsley. Remove from heat.

Put fresh pasta in boiling water and bring to a boil. Remove, drain (reserving 1/2 c pasta water) and pour into warm serving bowl. Add zucchini, remaining 1/4 cup oil, the garlic mixture and 1/2 cup cheese. Toss well, adding pasta water, if necessary to make a smooth sauce. Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper, if needed. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

For more recipes, check out the website!

Eat, drink and be merry! And as far as dieting goes, I am a firm believer that you have to burn more calories than you take in. For the most part and for most people, it is that simple. Eat less, everything in moderation and exercise more.

Cheers.