Zucchini Fritters with Dill Yoghurt Dip

So my obsession with zucchinis continues! If you don't know already, I LOVE zucchinis (see proof here and here). It's been a month since I last posted a recipe with zucchini, so this recipe is inevitable.

This time around, we're going Greek. I love the idea of vegetable fritters for the crunch factor. Research has shown that crunchy food makes our brain perceive them to taste better. That's why potato chips are full of air pockets and are always too big for a single bite - that way you'll always need to break them into smaller pieces to fit into your mouth and hear the crunch. Do you ever notice how it's hard to stop at just one chip?

Anywho, crunchy chips aside, there's no way I can stop at just one zucchini fritter either. If you take care to make really thin fritters, they'll come out beautifully crispy. It's also important to get rid of as much moisture as possible. You can simply squeeze the shredded zucchinis in a tea towel or take the extra step - salt them, let sit for about 15 minutes and strain well. Most zucchini fritter recipes I found didn't require feta, so that's a personal preference. Just remember to adjust how much salt you use depending on how salty the cheese is.

Get the full recipe after the jump.

Zucchini pizza bites

"Zucchini? Yes, please. Zucchini pizza bites? Marry me!"

That's my stream of thought when I saw this recipe on The Comfort of Cooking. As I've mentioned in a previous post, zucchinis are currently my ulitmate favourite vegetable so I'm always on the lookout for recipes using these delectable moss-coloured squashes. I must have stared at the computer screen for a full minute after I stumbled upon this recipe.

I have to be honest, though, and tell you that the recipe had me at "zucchini". I didn't realize what a bonus the rest of the ingredients were until I assembled each "bite". The fun part of this recipe was that I got to play around with toppings. This made preparing and eating these little bites so much fun!

 The recipe only takes about fifteen minutes so this is definitely going into my bank of quick bites. I decided to jazz things up a bit with a few extra toppings but you can definitely make these with just the sauce, cheese and herbs.

A few extra tips for beginners:
1. Be sure to cut the zucchini slices no less than 1/4" in thickness and to grill them on medium high heat just enough to brown, NOT to cook through. This is important to ensure the zucchini slices will be firm enough to hold their toppings and keep some of their crunch.
2. If you're using relatively small zucchinis, as I was, cut them diagonally to get more surface area for your toppings.
3. Finely shred your cheese. If you're using pre-shredded ones, chop them up well. Long or thick strips of cheese might not fit well on the slices.
4. I used some left-over spaghetti sauce, but any marinara or pizza sauce should do the trick.
5. Feel free to substitute the vegetable toppings, cheese and and herbs to something of your liking.

How fabulous do these look?

Get the step-by-step guide and recipe after the jump.

Zucchini Chips!

I.Love.Zucchinis. There are no two ways about it. And this recipe, by far, is my most favourite way to enjoy my favourite squash. A healthy vegetable turned into the equivalent of potato chips - who could argue with that?

Slicing the zucchinis with a mandolin slicer made the job so much easier although, looking at how much they shrink after baking, slicing by hand is probably sufficient if you have a steady hand. All you need to do is line the slices up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with olive oil and season lightly with salt. DO NOT overseason or the chips will be too salty due to the shrinkage. 

Unfortunately for me, my oven is extremely temperamental with its hot spots, so I spent two hours switching my baking trays around to make sure the chips brown relatively evenly. Due to the amount of time and energy to make what I consider a small batch of my favourite thing, I'm not sure if I'll be making this very often. But then again, I'm already craving for some more, so....

Recipe and instructions courtesy of Table For Two.
(Also, thanks Aunty Surya Ni for suggesting this recipe in the first place!)