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Tired of Zucchini bread? A recipe for Zucchini Latkes

Recipe at the top – cause who wants to wait to find out how to make Zucchini Latkes

I’ll cut to the chase – Zucchini Latke recipe RIGHT NOW – cause everyone hates it when you have to scroll for the recipe – but make sure to read down for an amazing way to serve these delicious summer squash fritters for a true summertime treat. Jump to the end to my cute anecdote about what to do with too many Zucchinis. Also, did you know that parts of the world call them Courgettes?

Yield: 20 Latkes

Zucchini Latkes - Summertime twist on a winter classic

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What do you do with too many Zucchinis. Make Latkes. A summertime twist on a winter classic comfort food. When you are tired of Zucchini bread.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 - 6 cups of grated Zucchini - 1 big Zucchini
• 1 large white potato, grated
• 1 onion grated
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 6 - 8 tablespoons crushed ritz crackers
• Pepper, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Oil of your choice for frying 
• 1.5 cups of Shredded Basil

Instructions

1. Shred zucchini, potato, basil, and onion in a large bowl. Toss to combine.
2. Beat eggs and combine with veggie mix.
3. Mix flour, salt, pepper, garlic, and crushed cracker crumbs.
4. Heat oil in pan on medium high until between 350-375F - or when something sizzles when you drop it in.
5. Drop mixture into the oil using large spoon. Fry until edges start to brown. Flip to cook on the opposite side.
6. Set Latkes to drain on paper towels. Serve while warm.

Notes

These cooked beautifully in bacon grease after making bacon. But, as that would be the opposite of Kosher, it would not be in line with the traditional Jewish Latke. Shmaltz (chicken fat) makes a beautifully substitute that also imparts an amazing flavor.

This isn’t Kosher – BZLTs

We started the morning by frying a couple pounds of bacon – and some of us had BZLTs for lunch (Bacon Zucchini Latke Tomato Sandwich). And WOW – just wow. Totally worth it for this gentile. Summer squash is a fruit which has a different texture than it’s wintertime cousins – check out my ginger butternut squash soup recipe for some winter taste sensations.

Pair Zucchini Latkes with Tomatoes and fresh mozzarella

The richness of the Latkes is balanced beautifully with a balsamic vinegar reduction finishing a beautifully plated variation on a Caprese Salad. Adding Zucchini as another traditional summertime flavor rounds this out as the perfect heavy appetizer or light meal. Grill some summer squash to make a perfect companion.

Don’t forget to pick your zucchinis and summer squash before they turn into baseball bats

You get cuddled up in bed for the night before you remember that you didn’t pick Zucchinis today. It’s 11pm and still 85F. You have a choice, get out of your cool bed, find a flashlight, and go hunting for ripe summer squash and zucchinis – getting sweaty and itchy in the process. Or… you can forget about them until you grow a massive crop of Louisville Sluggers.

So, you didn’t pick your Zucchinis – And now you have approximately 450 lbs of Zucchini and summer squash piling up on your kitchen cabinet. Your family might murder you if they have to eat any more zucchini bread. Make them Zucchini Latkes and they will forgive you. And while all your tummies are full you can plot your next move.

You are going to need an accomplice

Kids work well for this task, they are fast and small. Load up the car with a willing child in some dark clothes. Bag up Zucchinis, 5-10 lbs per bag, and put them in the car too. Print this recipe and include it in each bag.

During quarantine this is both easier and harder – people are all home, but also they aren’t answering their doors. Or you can rely on the cover of darkness. Target your best friends and a neighbor or two. Drive up, send the kid to go drop the bags of zucchinis on the porch and then RUNAWAY.

You need to keep track of who you visit with drive by zucchini drops – you don’t want to get caught by dropping on a friend too often.

Good luck and go with god. My friend over at Faust Island wrote about the health benefits of Zucchini – check it out.

Want to learn more about the zucchino (that’s the singlular of zucchini)? Like that some places call it a baby marrow or a courgette?

Zucchini is the plural of zucchino, which is a cute little Italian word for “pumpkin” or “squash”. 

The name courgette is the diminutive of courge (“gourd, marrow”) and is commonly used in France, Belgium, and other Francophone areas, as well as in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa.

In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore, a fully-grown, matured courgette is referred to as a marrow. Or when picked very small (finger sized) a baby marrow.

And y’all know I need to drop a botanical name on you, Cucurbita pepo, which is a summer squash.

How do you like to eat your zucchini?

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