Dish of Zucchini Patties with White Cheese
(click to enlarge)

Zucchini Patties w/ White Cheese


Turkey   -   Kabak Mücveri

Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  
6 app
**
1-1/2 hrs
Yes
A flavorful warm appetizer or breakfast dish, and a good way to keeping the garden zucchini under control. This recipe makes from 16 to 18 patties.

1-1/2
1/2
1
1
1/2
1/2
1
1/2
1-1/2
3
a/r
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#
t


c
t
c
c
T
oz

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Zucchini (1)
Salt
Egg
Egg Yolk
Flour
Salt
Parsley (2)
Scallions
Dill
White Cheese (3)  
Olive Oil (4)
-- Serve With
Yogurt

Used for breakfast this recipe will serve 3 to 4 depending on appetite. Zucchini patties can be made ahead and rewarmed in a 375°F/190°C oven for about 10 minutes (see Note-6).

Prep   -   (1 hr (hand chopping herbs))
  1. Grate ZUCCHINI on the course side of your grater. Mix with 1/2 t Salt and let stand at least 20 minutes, turning occasionally. Wring out fairly dry.
  2. Mix EGG and EGG YOLK, then Flour and 1/2 t Salt into Zucchini.
  3. Chop PARSLEY, SCALLIONS and DILL fairly fine and mix into Zucchini.
  4. Crumble WHITE CHEESE and mix into Zucchini.
RUN
  1. Heat about 1/4 cup Olive Oil in a skillet. Spoon Zucchini mix into the oil in 1 ounce lumps and flatten into patties (Note-5). Fry both sides over moderately high heat until browned but not too dark. They should be cooked through, but with plenty of green peaking through. Add more Olive Oil as needed for frying as you go.
  2. Drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil and keep warm.
  3. Serve warm with Yogurt on the side. While not "authentic", I find these go very well with hot sauce.
NOTES:
  1. Zucchini:

      I prefer the flavor of Zucchini, but Mediterranean Squash or similar can also be used. they should be medium size, about 2 inches diameter.
  2. Parsley:

    Yes, that's a lot of parsley, but not unusual for a Turkish recipe - they treat parsley more like a vegetable than an herb. Use only flat leaf (Italian) parsley.
  3. White Cheese:

      This is similar to Feta. Bulgarian Sirene is sold in North America as "Bulgarian Feta", while the Turks have always called theirs "White Cheese". These are similar to Greek Feta, but different enough that Greek Feta is not considered suitable for Bulgarian or Turkish recipes. The EU gave Greece a monopoly on the name "Feta", so the Danes and others now have to call their "Feta" "White Cheese" as well, in Europe.
  4. Olive Oil:

      This should be Pure Olive Oil or Pomace (higher temperature), not virgin which can't take the heat.
  5. Frying:

      I find the best device for ladling out the zucchini is a regular soup spoon. Scoop up a pile with it, dump it in the oil and push it in round shape, then pat it down flat with your spatula. I usually do 6 or 7 at a time in a 12 inch skillet. Keep the oil under under 400°F/200°C and fry them until browned, not black, with plenty of green peeking through.
  6. Serving:

      These take time, but can be made ahead and reheated for breakfast. This makes them perfect if you expect she'll stay the night, especially if she's a vegetarian. She's a vegan? Forget it, there's no way you can satisfy a vegan. She didn't stay? You can still console yourself with these in the morning - perhaps with some manly Habanero Sauce instead of the Yogurt (these go really great with hot sauce). Ladies - if you're trying to impress a guy with these, keep that hot sauce in mind (you're not dating a wimp, are you?).
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
tav_zuccpat1 070422   -   www.clovegarden.com
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