Zucchini Fritters

Does absence truly make the heart grow fonder? And, if yes, can it work in the case of absent posts from long-lost food blogging sisters?

We are sincerely sorry for our neglect of GF&H of late; the truth is we have been positively distracted since last summer by a commission from New York-based food author, Elizabeth Gordon, of My allergy-free lifestyle fame.

Elizabeth’s third cookbook was published last month, May 2013, and guess whose names are on the cover? In our respective kitchens across the pond from each other, Mel and I cooked, styled and photographed 60 of the featured recipes and what a tough, but exhilarating journey it was!

And as a returning gift from us, with Elizabeth’s kind permission, today’s post is a sneak preview into the pages of ‘Simply Allergy-Free‘ with Elizabeth’s recipe for Zucchini Fritters, plus a couple of our favourite images from the book besides.As the name suggests every recipe in the book is free of Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nuts and Eggs; those who don’t already know better may wonder what’s left. Certainly whilst cooking the recipes Mel & I were introduced to a plethora of new ingredients and very tasty substitutes. So, whether you have food allergies to consider or not it really is a great way to experiment and to begin thinking differently about food.

With this returning post, our intention is to once more crank up our contribution to the increasingly buzzing world of food photography and blogging. As ever, we aim to share more favourite recipes of ours and of others’ we admire for you all to enjoy – although for the next few months at least these may have a somewhat English bias as Mel is in the midst of revamping her Manhattan kitchen, which literally leaves her little room to manoeuvre until autumn comes around!

Recipe from Simply Allergy-Free: Quick and Tasty Recipes for Every Night of the Week

Zucchini Fritters

This is a great thing to make as a simple side in late summer when zucchini is abundant and really inexpensive. They fry up nicely and become crisp, making a more nutritious stand-in for French fries.

Makes 6 Fritters

1 large zucchini (about 1 pound) grated
2 medium Russet potatoes (about 1 pound) grated
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon potato starch
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons canola oil, divided

Place the shredded zucchini, potatoes, garlic, dill, potato starch and salt in a large bowl and mix them together until all of the ingredients are well combined.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
While the oil is heating, take about 1/3 cup of the zucchini mixture, squeeze out as much moisture as possible and form the mixture into a patty. Repeat until all of the zucchini and potato mixture is made into patties.
Place 3 or 4 of the patties in the oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan, and fry for 6 minutes per side, only flipping once and pressing down on each patty with the spatula after flipping.
Remove the cooked fritters to a baking sheet and place them in the oven to stay warm while you continue working with the remaining fritters. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and repeat the process until all of the fritters are cooked.
These fritters are best eaten immediately, but leftovers may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to three days.

And whilst you enjoy a feast of Zucchini Fritters, here are a few more photos to hopefully entice you into picking up a copy of Simply Allergy-free in the near future. – Lorna

Photo for Chicken Brochettes Provencal, from Simply Allergy-Free: Quick and Tasty Recipes for Every Night of the Week by Elizabeth Gordon, photography by Melani Bauman and Lorna Palmer.

Photo for French Lentil Salad, from Simply Allergy-Free: Quick and Tasty Recipes for Every Night of the Week by Elizabeth Gordon, photography by Melani Bauman and Lorna Palmer.