Last two weeks have been quite busy so I have been falling behind on all the recipes I want to post (excuses, excuses). We had multiple guests staying with us, a super fun 4th of July BBQ on our roof and I was out of town for a bachelorette in Santa Cruz. We also found some time to finally explore Mt. Rainier. It has been teasing us with spectacular views from our roof and it was just as majestic up close. The next day, I was in Santa Cruz, kayaking in the ocean with otters and sea lions. I made and photographed this recipe in a quiet moment in between all the activities but just found time to sit down and write it up.

I am still learning the farmers markets of Seattle. We try to go to one each week to see what is new and explore different neighborhoods. But if I am honest, there is nothing comparable to my first love, Union Square Greenmarket (in nyc). Last week, when I started seeing the summer squash popping up all over Seattle’s farmers markets, the first recipe that came to my mind was zucchini latkes or as we say in Turkish, mücver. Latke is originally a potato pancake which has variations in many cuisines like Jewish, Polish, German and Korean. I also just found out that it is the national dish of Belarus (thanks Wikipedia!). In Turkey, zucchini latkes are more popular than potato ones and they are enjoyed as an appetizer during hot summer months.

This recipe is pretty easy to modify. You can use monterey jack or pepper jack instead of cheddar cheese. You can omit the cheese completely. Adding spices like paprika and cayenne work very well too. I prefer dill in this recipe but you can’t go wrong with any fresh herb. I even made it gluten-free once using gluten-free flour and it tasted just as good. Let me know in the comments below if you modified the recipe and how. Happy cooking!

Yields: 6 servings Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

3 zucchinis (about 1lbs)

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

3 tablespoons dill or parsley, chopped

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying

For serving:

2 garlic cloves

1 cup plain yogurt

Preparation

1. Peel and grate the zucchinis using the coarse grating surface of a grater.

2. Transfer into a strainer sitting on top of a bowl. Let the zucchini sit for 10-15 minutes to drain its excess juices. You can squeeze the zucchini with your hands or press and pat dry with a paper towel to speed up the process. Discard the excess liquid. If there is too much excess liquid in your latke mixture, they don’t hold as well, so don’t skip this step.

3. Transfer the grated zucchinis into a bowl. Add in grated cheese, chopped herbs, flour, baking powder, eggs, salt and pepper. Mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.

4. Heat 1/4 cup of the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. I add the rest of the oil if skillet is running low on oil.

5. Add 4 separate tablespoonfuls of latke mixture into the skillet. Fry the latkes until golden brown on both sides, flipping midway using a spatula, 3-4 minutes total.  

6. Transfer the latkes to a plate lined with paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

7. To make garlicky yogurt, mince the garlic cloves and add into the yogurt. Stir the yogurt until smooth.

8. Serve warm or cold with garlicky yogurt on the side.