Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Hash Green Fritters


I used an amazing recipe I found in my Facebook feed called Zucchini Crust Pizza last week when my garden was exploding (again) with zukes. My family raved about it.

The secret was in salting and squeezing out the moisture in the zukes. Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that before! The hot oven-stone idea was also very helpful, though I used a 13-inch ceramic tile left over from our kitchen remodel and turned it upside down. My pizza was square. Tasted great anyway.

Well, I had some uncooked dough left over, and the next morning my daughter fried pancakes out of it. Also brilliant! It was delicious! The only drawback was, the high oregano content required that it be smothered in more tomato-y salsa to even out the flavors. Not my idea of breakfast, but hey, I'm eating greens three meals a day, and that isn't your typical breakfast food either, so I could live with it. Once.

Today I made what I have dubbed Hash Green Fritters. I took out the oregano and basil from the aforementioned recipe and increased the protein content by adding chia seeds along with a bit of water. Worked like a charm! Here's a single-dish meal for your family that is low-carb and higher protein than potato hash browns, and just as yummy.   

HASH GREEN FRITTERS

  • 8 cups shredded zucchini
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
  • 2/3 cup flour of choice
  • 2T chia or flax seed
  • 1T water
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 T coconut oil
  • optional: extra shredded cheese to sprinkle on top 
  1. In a large bowl, toss the zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 15 minutes. Squeeze the excess moisture out of the squash by wrapping it up in a clean tea towel or piece of cheese cloth and wringing it out, discarding the water. (You may wish to do step one the night before and refrigerate. I did.)
  2. Once all of the excess moisture has been wrung out and discarded, place the shredded zucchini back into the bowl and add the cheese, flour, garlic, seeds, water, eggs, and salt.
  3. With your hands, incorporate all of the ingredients together.
  4. Place coconut oil into a frying pan on high and heat until just beginning to smoke. Very important that it be HOT, or the mixture will not sear, may stick to pan and give you a big headache!
  5. Spread mixture in hot pan thinly, about a quarter of an inch. After 3 minutes, flip with a spatula (yes, it will break apart) and press down flat. After 2 minutes, flip and press down again. Continue flipping as outer crust browns and inside dries and cooks until no moisture oozes up. Keep pan hot, but not too hot. Don't walk away and burn your precious meal :).
  6. You may offer a bowl of extra shredded cheese for hand-sprinkling on top of the hot cakes. Enjoy!


Prep time: 15 minutes   Cooking time: 15 minutes  Servings: 6

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