Last night I opened a new bag of salad, so today seems like a good occasion to have a “salad’ and salad night. Well, that and the enormous amount of vegetables coming out of our garden at the moment. Most notably I need to use up a sneaky, XL zucchini I found hidden under a canopy of leaves. Like probably everyone everywhere I generally prefer smaller, more tender squash, but simply removing the seeds of an overgrown one will make it perfectly edible.
This morning I shredded a pound of seeded zucchini and now it’s hanging in the fridge with some thinly sliced leeks and fennel leftover from yesterday’s brunch, plus plenty of salt. Later, I’ll squeeze out excess liquid and add an egg, a bit of Pecorino, parsley, AP and oat flour and about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon each baking powder and baking soda. The baking powder is for lift; the baking soda is a browning agent because oh yeah, I’m gonna pan fry this mixture into lil fritters. Should the texture permit, I have aspirations of dusting the batter in fine cornmeal to create a satisfying crunch. Is a fritter a salad? Maybe not, but it’s vegetable-y and that’s what counts.
On the side, a squeeze of lemon whisked into Greek yogurt for dipping. Also fat slices of sweet tomatoes with flaky salt, dill, garlic oil and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.