I’ve been doing the lovely dark green zucchini a disservice for many years.
And I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to realise it.
It’s high time the zucchini got the appreciation it so rightly deserves.
It’s been my go-to vegetable, the old reliable ensemble player, the working actor of the vegetable world for a long time now – and is more than capable of a starring role in a recipe.
The zucchini is always in my fridge ready to step in to add some vegetable goodness to all sorts of stews and casseroles, or to come to my assistance in the valuable understudy role of “emergency green thing on plate”.
So here you are, in the category of Best Vegetable in a Leading Role (ably supported by the Summer’s best tomatoes so far), I give you the zucchini.
Zucchini griddle cakes with tomato and blue cheese salad
Ingredients
2/3 cup plain flour
2 eggs
4 or 5 zucchini
3 or 4 very ripe tomatoes
8 – 10 basil leaves
50g blue cheese
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Combine eggs and plain flour to make a thick paste.
Grate the zucchini into the batter and mix well to combine.
Crush the garlic and slice the spring onions and chilli finely and add to the batter. Add a pinch of salt and some pepper to season.
Heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan over moderate heat.
Add the batter to the pan a heaped tablespoonful at a time. Fry the griddle cakes for a minute or two until golden brown and turn cooking until will browned and cooked through.
Serve with a salad of sliced tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese, roughly torn basil and a drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar.
