J. | 
06 30th, 2010| 
There’s nothing like summer to inspire you to cook with vegetables. There are so many fresh, green whatnots in the market! Someone asked me about finding something to do with the abundance of zucchinis this season, and I practically elbowed old ladies and little children out of my way at Trader Joe’s when I saw these winking at me:
These Zucchini Pancakes are actually Turkish in origin. Before making these, I had never heard of mucver, but because I really wanted to work with zucchini, I looked for an interesting way to use them. This recipe is based on one from The New York Times’ “Temporary Vegetarian.” These are SO good! It has pockets of yummy feta in it, and with a soft egg mixture holding it all together, the dish is awesome both warm and even cold the next day.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
3 medium zucchini
salt and feshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 scallions (I used green onions because that’s all I had), finely chopped
4 to 6 tablespoons vegetable oil for pan-frying, more as needed
WHAT TO DO
1) Shred your zucchini. I used my mini food processor for this task. Whoever invented this tiny but powerful machine deserves a fat gold medal and a big hug from me. It’s seriously one of the best investments I’ve made for the kitchen (well, actually, I got it with a gift card, haha!). It’s the KitchenAid Chef Series Food Chopper.
2) Place the shredded zucchini in a colander and mix in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Leave to stand for about 5 minutes as the salt draws the liquid out of the vegetable.
3) Take a clean dishcloth, lay it out and set the zucchini in the middle. Gather the ends and wring the thing like your life depended on it. I mean it, wring it like it someone’s going to pay you good money to wring it. The drier the zucchini is, the more likely your pancakes will turn out crispy.
4) Place the wrung zucchini shreds in a bowl, and mix in the eggs. Add the green onions and feta, and finally, the flour. In reality I didn’t have to use all the required flour, I kind of just gauged the mixture. Not too dry, not too wet. Season with some pepper.
5) Heat some oil on a griddle. You can do this in a pan as well. Spoon patties of the zucchini mixture onto the hot griddle, about 3 inches each across. Cook until the undersides are golden brown, and flip. Have a pan line with paper towels ready.
6) Lay out the pancakes on the paper towel-lined pan as they’re cooked to soak up some of the oil. They’re perfect when they’re crisp around the edges and nice and browned in the middle.
Serve with a garnish of green onion, and enjoy with a dollop of some tzatziki (a cool, tangy Greek sauce made with yogurt, cucumbers and dill). This one’s from the Trader Joe’s refrigerated section, and it’s perfect with the pancakes!
Yum! I can seriously eat this everyday. 
Good luck zukin’ it out in the kitchen!
**Eat Your Vegetables is a new project on The Girl With A Curl. As a promise to eat healthier, I plan to discover new, yummy, non-gag-inducing vegetable recipes every week. They’ll be a big part of my packed lunches at work and will be an interesting way to see how many different ways vegetables can be prepared. As a meat eater, vegetables are something I haven’t paid attention to in my years in the kitchen, but that’s something I’d like to change. From Artichoke to Zucchini and everything in between, here’s to healthy eating at its most delicious!
