Feeling a bit of Fall: An Updated Zucchini Recipe

From the baseball diamond to the dinner table; that’s just how I roll.

I don’t think I ever shared with you these zucchini patties that I created awhile back for RecipeRelay. Fall, and Fall-inspired cooking, has been a lot on my mind lately (even though the weather today claims to hit up to 80 degrees. WHAT?!). This recipe was based on summery ingredients such as corn, zucchini, and nectarines. But I’m going to go out on a limb and say, without having actually tested this yet, to substitute that corn for some sauteed mushroom and onions, and to swap that zucchini for any of the 5 varieties of winter squashes and pumpkins in rotation at the store, and nix the nectarines for some pears. Add some walnuts into that salad for an extra nuttiness. Voila! Somehow I’ve found the perfect recipe to bridge this oddly warm Fall day.

Plus, It’s a great way to add a little rotation into your increasingly staid cooking routine (don’t be mad, we all get into weird cooking routines).

Here is the original recipe. Do what you will with substitutions!!

Zucchini Patties with Nectarine and Corn Salad

originally published on Recipe Relay August 9, 2012

Ingredients:

3 small to medium zucchini, grated (suggestion: substitute one medium-sized acorn squash, or half a butternut squash, or a kabocha pumpkin!)
1/2 lemon
1 large shallot (or 2 small ones)
1 ripe nectarine, finely diced (suggestion: substitute one pear, or crisp apple)
1 small plum, finely diced
1 large ear white corn, boiled and cooled (suggestion: substitue one half onion, sauteed, and one handful of cremini mushrooms, sauteed)
1 small bunch chervil (10-15 leaves)
1 small carrot, finely grated
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1/3 cup pine nuts, finely chopped
4-5 zucchini blossoms, thinly chopped
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
ricotta cheese

Directions:

Grate zucchini with the large holes of a grater. Lightly season and set over a double layer of paper towels lined in a colander. The zucchini will start to ‘sweat’, so set aside to drain for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make your peach and corn salsa. Boil one ear of corn, cool, and pat dry. Finely mince 1/2 of a large shallot and combine in a medium bowl with lemon juice and 1 tsp. salt. Finely dice peach and plum, and cut kernels off one ear of corn. Add into bowl and incorporate thoroughly. Coarsely chop chervil and mix in. Cover and set in refrigerator to cool.
One handful at a time, squeeze excess liquid from zucchini and transfer to a large bowl. Finely grate a carrot, mince the other half of the shallot, and mix with zucchini. To chop pine nuts, pulse in a food processor or spice mill a few times until roughly chopped. Or, use my method, which is to seal in a ziploc bag and pound with a rolling pin for a minute. Add pine nuts, breadcrumbs, eggs, salt and pepper, and mix well. Finely slice zucchini blossoms and mix, then add a dash of olive oil and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar. Taste, and season according to your preferences.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, spoon zucchini mixture into the palm of your hand and form into a small, 2-3 inch patty. The mixture will be fairly wet, but will stay together easily. There should be just about enough to make 12 patties.
After lining up all the patties, heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. When the oil starts to let off a bit of smoke, turn heat down to medium. Carefully drop zucchini patties into the pan, 4-5 at a time so as to not overcrowd the pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on how hot your oil (and how crispy/burnt you like your patties!).
Transfer cooked patties to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain/cool.
On each plate, spoon a hefty dollop of fresh ricotta and season with salt and olive oil. Place a few patties on top, and dress with the peach and corn salad.