My favorite recipes are often inspired by having too much of a good thing from the garden or our CSA to spur me along to a little extra home kitchen creativity. Where I live, there seems to be an overabundance of zucchini this summer. I guess that’s sometimes the case with zucchini, and a “too-much-zucchini” problem is a problem shared by many. Fortunately, with a little creativity there is so much one can make with this prolific summer vegetable!
A couple of weeks ago I posted a recipe for Zucchini and Chive Quiche with a flaky, whole wheat crust. This week I have a recipe for Leek and Zucchini Fritters that are topped with an oozy poached egg and sweet, oven-roasted tomatoes. Although, like the quiche, this is a breakfast dish, this is something totally different. The quiche was sophisticated with a delicate buttery flavor, and this dish is a messy explosion of summer garden goodness that’s perfect for breakfast, or in my case, I made this for dinner!
If you, too, have a zucchini problem, stay tuned over the next couple of weeks because I have two more zucchini recipes planed, including a dessert that might involve a little bit of whoopie (how scandalous!)…
- 2 C shredded zucchini
- 1 C finely diced leeks
- ¼ C minced parsley
- 2 minced cloves of garlic
- ¼ tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp chick pea flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 C halved grape tomatoes
- 2 tsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 eggs
- 2 Tbsp parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat your oven to 425ºF. Combine your fritter ingredients in a mixing bowl and gently combine. To shred the zucchini use a box grater and then, using your hands, wring out the vegetable to remove excess water before adding to the rest of the ingredients.
- Toss the halved cherry tomatoes with 2 tsp of olive oil, arrange on a cookie sheet with seed side up, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast in a 425ºF oven for 20-25 minutes or until they begin to brown on the bottoms and begin to wrinkle.
- While the cherry tomatoes are roasting it's time to fry your zucchini fritters and cook your poached eggs. For the fritters, lightly coat a large pan with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Using your hands, form the leek and zucchini mixture into 9 little pancakes and then plop them (gently) into the hot oil. Flip once they begin to brown (after 3-4 minutes), and then brown the opposite side for another 3-4 minutes. Once they are done cooking, place them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb any excess olive oil until you're ready to serve.
- To poach your eggs, I recommend using the plastic wrap method. Begin with a small dish or ramekin. Take a long piece of plastic wrap (about 2 ft long) and center it over the dish, pushing the very center of it down into the dish.
- Put a small bit of olive oil in the plastic that is down inside the dish and rub it around with your fingers to coat it evenly. Crack your egg into the plastic inside the dish. Now take both long ends of your plastic wrap, pull them upwards, and tie the excess off. The egg should now be captured securely in a small pouch of plastic wrap.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, then turn the heat way down to where it is just below a simmer. You don't want the water to be too hot, so it should be steamy, but you should see NO bubbles rising from the bottom of the pot.
- Place your egg pouches into the water and cook for 3 minutes. If they're not quite cooked enough after 3 minutes, return them to the water for another minute.
- When the eggs are cooked, simply cut off the top of the plastic wrap pouch and carefully roll the poached egg onto a plate.
- To serve, place 3 zucchini fritters on each plate, top with 1 poached egg and ⅓ of the roasted cherry tomatoes. Garnish with fresh parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.
Rachel I had never heard of the pouch method for poaching eggs.
How brilliant!
I love my zucchini fritters all day long–must try with roasted tomatoes. We got the First Tomato of Summer in our share last week, but mine in the garden are all still green. Getting bigger than ever, but still green.
Thanks!
My hubby discovered the pouch method for poaching eggs and I don’t think we’ll ever go back! Green garden tomatoes are such a tease. I have a few pots on my patio with green heirlooms. The weather from where I sit is supposed to be in the 90s all this week, so I’m hoping that some serious ripening will happen!
A perfect use for all of that extra zucchini!
Thanks Melanie!
i can never say NO to fritters and these look delightful.
I have a fritter weakness too. Fortunately these contain lots of veg!
These look delicious! We haven’t gotten local leeks yet from our CSA but as soon as we do, I am trying this!
I just love leeks! I get so excited when I find them in my CSA box!
This has my husband’s name written all over it! It looks good enough to cure his summer cold.
Thanks Shelby! I hope your husband feels better soon!
Yup, I definitely have a zucchini problem! I just got some from the church garden the other day, then the neighbor up the street comes over with 4 HUGE zucchini and yellow squashes! I am writing down this recipe and the one for the quiche you posted and plan to try them both over the next week or so. I’ll let you know how they turn out. They sure look delicious!
Thanks Becca. Please let me know how they turn out! If your zucchini problem continues I have a recipe for Zucchini Whoopie Pies slotted to be post in the next week or so.
I made just the zucchini fritters part of this the other night to go with some leftover soup. It has a really yummy flavor, but fell apart due to the cook(me!) not reading the recipe right! I used regular flour and saw later that it called for chickpea flour, oops! So I ended up putting all of it in the frying pan at once and flipped it over, like a zucchini hash brown or scramble. Next time I’ll use the right flour. It also sounds good with the tomatoes and eggs, runny yolks are my favorite. I think I have finally used up my zucchini problem for now, but when I get more, there a good chance I’ll be making those zucchini whoopie pies!
I’m so happy to hear about your cooking adventure. I’ve totally made the mistake of adding a wrong ingredient before! If you don’t have chickpea flour on hand they’d probably bind better if you add a 3 Tbsp of regular flour. Also, be sure to wring out the zucchini. I sometimes do this using my hands, or if I have some on hand, a cheese cloth. In season, especially if it’s fresh from the garden, zucchini tends to have a very high water content, which will interfere with the binding of the egg and the flour if it’s not tamed. All that said… your zucchini hash also sounds amazing!
Love zucchini fritters and oven roasted tomatoes. Yours look Amazing, Rachel, with the poached egg on top!
Thanks Nicoletta! Of course it could be argued that anything looks amazing with a poached egg on top!
I love zucchinis, and this would be an ultimate breakfast for me.
Thanks Sara. I love eating vegetables in the morning. It seems like such a good way to start the day!
Made this today. Delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed!