Anny's Red Plate: Courgette Croquette's

With Sour Creme & Homemade Salsa

Finding a means to a happy end for a veggie hater is daunting at times. Particularly in the summer with the bounty of fresh produce from back-yard garden's, farmer's markets etc. I love everything and want to cook all of it to my heart's content. But The Horn Player likes (not loves) a mere smattering of things.

Well, zucchini is a favorite of mine, natch. His take on the zuke, not so much. Since necessity is the mother of invention, I decided to experiment and conjure a version of my beloved zucchini that he would at least try. That's all I hoped for, to be quite honest.

Courgette Croquette's

2 small to medium zucchini

Salt

1/2 small onion finely minced

1 small hot banana pepper finely minced (or 1/2 small bell pepper)

2/3 cup or so of grated Monterey Jack cheese (or whatever you prefer)

1 large egg

Garlic powder (to taste)

Black pepper (to taste)

All-purpose flour (this amount varies)

Extra virgin olive oil

Butter

All-purpose flour (for coating)

Plain white corn meal (for coating)

Salt (after frying if needed)

Sour creme

Salsa

Up close view of the green shreds of Zucchini...crunchy too

Grate the zucchini and place in a colander. Salt lightly to extract as much water as possible, mixing the salt into the grated zuke's. You should set the colander over a bowl to catch the liquid. After about an hour or so, place the zucchini in a spanking clean kitchen towel and wring out as much water as possible, then place into a mixing bowl.

Add the onion, hot pepper, grated cheese, egg, garlic powder, black pepper and stir to combine. Add the flour incrementally, a tablespoon at the time. It won't take a bunch of flour if you dried the zucchini properly. Do not over mix either. That will create a tough doughy consistency. Measure equal parts all-purpose flour and plain white corn meal onto a platter for the coating process. When you have a nice batter that holds together well, scoop dollops into the flour/meal mixture and coat well. Shape into a croquette or patty for frying.

Heat a very small amount of extra virgin olive oil with a pat of butter (for flavor) in a skillet. Fry the croquette's until nicely browned on one side and turn to brown the other. Remove to a paper towel lined platter to drain. Serve with a spoonful of sour creme and a drizzle of salsa.

Note: I used my homemade salsa that I previously blogged and I'm here to report that freezing works wonderfully. I love a handy discovery.