Posted on August 14th, 2008 by Carolyn
As I analyzed this recipe, I was trying to figure out what, exactly, made these Turkish. Must be the feta cheese (a staple in the Turkish breakfast menu) and the walnuts. We certainly never had anything like these in our travels in Turkey. But then, we only ate in restaurants, and this likely wouldn’t feature on any dine-out menu.
What appealed to me about these was – first – the zucchini. I had some home grown ones in the refrigerator that are a week old and needed to be used. Secondly, they have very little flour in them - the egg provided most of the binding. I wanted to make something that was more vegetables than pancake, and this fit the bill perfectly. Zucchini by and of itself doesn’t have tons of flavor. I guess I’d call it a kind of neutral vegetable, kind of like eggplant. Not like fennel. Or artichokes. Or broccoli.
The recipe came from Bon Appetit (found on Epicurious) magazine, circa 1996. Lots of other people have made these and left comments on the recipe site. Lots of alternate ideas (like using basil and mint instead of dill and tarragon, neither of which I had on hand) and suggestions for serving (with different kinds of salsas and sauces) all of which sounded good. I decorated mine with a tiny dollop of sour cream and a tiny mint leaf that was left on the chopping board. Next time I might try a different cheese (like Parmesan), but that would mean it’s likely not Turkish anymore. I added more feta (per somebody else’s suggestion) but still didn’t taste it in the finished product. I think I want a stronger cheese. Feta is a fairly strong cheese, and salty, but it got lost in the pancakes. So, if you decide to make these, keep that in mind. I still have more zucchini left, so maybe I’ll try these again with my own interpretation.
The finished product? Well, they were good. I won’t call them exceptional – not like the fennel fritters I made last year that knocked my socks off. But these were good. Healthy even. If you used Eggbeaters they’d be even lower in calorie and fat. Next time I’ll play around with the herb mixture – I couldn’t taste the mint or the basil at all. Odd that I couldn’t. I used plenty in the recipe. I particularly like thyme with zucchini, so perhaps I’ll try that instead of the basil. And maybe the tarragon would be good instead of the mint. And definitely I’d change out the cheese. Parmegiano-Reggiano would be my first substitution. But I think children would like this – providing they liked zucchini. We had leftovers of these, and 2 days later I think they tasted better than they did when I made them. I didn’t expect that with a pancake, but then, it’s mostly zucchini, not pancake. So these could easily be made ahead and reheated (I did it in the microwave which worked admirably well).
Turkish Zucchini Pancakes
Recipe: Bon Appétit | January 1996
Servings: 20 (two per person is my suggestion)
1 pound zucchini — trimmed, coarsely grated
2 cups chopped green onions
4 large eggs — beaten to blend
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup fresh dill — chopped, or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried dill weed [or mint]
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon — or 2 teaspoons dried [or basil]
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese [recipe called for ½ cup] [or Parmesan]
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
Olive oil
1. Place zucchini in colander. Sprinkle zucchini with salt and let stand 30 minutes to drain. Squeeze zucchini between hands to remove liquid, then squeeze dry in several layers of paper towels.
2. Combine zucchini, chopped green onions, 4 eggs, flour, chopped dill, parsley, tarragon, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in medium bowl. Mix well. Fold in crumbled feta cheese. (Zucchini mixture can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Stir to blend before continuing.) Fold chopped walnuts into zucchini mixture. Taste for seasoning.
3. Preheat oven to 300°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Cover bottom of large nonstick skillet with olive oil. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, drop zucchini mixture into skillet by heaping tablespoonfuls and flatten them slightly to make rounds or ovals. Fry until pancakes are golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer each batch of pancakes to baking sheet in oven to keep warm. Serve pancakes hot. Serve with a small dollop of sour cream or yogurt as a garnish.
Per Serving: 71 Calories; 5g Fat (54.7% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 47mg Cholesterol; 126mg Sodium.
© 2008 tastingspoons.com
As a side note, the breaking up of my posting (where you have to click over to read the whole story) does something bizarre to my website - the header picture disappears and the right column font goes into overdrive. Guess I can’t do that. I shall just hope that the person who is copying my blog will cease and desist.
