This is my mom’s recipe and it’s a big hit in our house. My husband loves these savory cakes and eats them “bathed” in plenty of sour cream. Meanwhile, I eat them on their own and quite a few at a time, sometimes late at night, when the pregnancy cravings kick in. I think this is a great comfort food: served hot, straight from the pan, the cakes are fresh, light and moist and exhibit simplicity and earthiness. I have found that simple is in many case better, and this is why I like to let the flavors shine through and to talk for themselves in this dish. No strange names or artificial additions – just a few well-known ingredients, true to themselves and carefully selected 🙂
A few days ago I bought 8 zucchini from the grocery store and decided it was time to make zucchini cakes again. I had been feeling cold and miserable, and the comforting warmth of these cakes was just what I needed. Alongside the zucchini themselves, fresh dill is a key ingredient which can truly make or break this dish. It’s definitely worth buying fresh dill instead of using the dry variety straight from a jar. Use fresh, and these cakes will truly be something special!
Ingredients
4 large zucchini (mine weighted about 3lb)
2 whole eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan
Bunch fresh dill, chopped
Vegetable oil as needed (to sauté the zucchini and to fry the cakes in)
Salt and pepper to taste
Wash and peel the zucchini. Grate them using a medium grater and put them in a bowl. Add a sprinkle of salt and let the zucchini absorb the salt for about half an hour. After this time has passed take the zucchini out of the bowl and squeeze them tightly to eliminate the excess liquid. Sauté the zucchini in vegetable oil or butter in a pan over a medium heat for approximately 10 minutes, then let them cool down. Put the zucchini in a bowl along with the other ingredients: the eggs, flour, milk, grated parmesan, chopped dill, salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients well – the mix must have the consistency of a pancake batter. Add more milk if it’s thicker and more flour if it’s thinner than expected.
This is how the entire process looks like:
Preheat a frying pan. Make small cakes and fry them in vegetable oil until golden-brown. Serve the cakes warm with sour cream and extra chopped dill on top.
This recipe is economical and very easy to make. What I like about it is not just the resulting mix of flavors, but also the convenience: If you’re pressed for time you can grate the zucchini and leave them in the fridge to make the cakes over the next couple of days. Once made, these cakes keep well in the fridge for up to one week – just store them in a plastic or glass container, otherwise they will lose some of their natural moisture and will turn dry. Whenever I have the time I make a big batch to last us the whole week, and I’ve had no complaints about it so far 🙂
I hope you like these savory cakes at least as much as we do. Bon appétit!
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