These indulgent zucchini patties highlight the sweetness of this popular late summer vegetable.

If the word “fried” scares you don’t run screaming after step 3. Yes, you will need to fry these zucchini patties once they are assembled but it’s just a flash fry and most of the oil will drain off on paper towels. These patties are the perfect starter to your light late summer meal. If you’re serving a salad for dinner, start with fritters to delight your guests as they assemble individual lettuce wraps.

Use a box grater to get nice thick strands of zucchini and don’t be afraid to mix up the herb selection. I’ve used parsley and green onions in this particular version but cilantro, dill or even basil would be delicious. I serve them with a very simple yogurt sauce and wrap the patties in lettuce leaves, but they are also delicious on their own.

Zucchini Patties with Lemon-Yogurt Sauce 

Makes about 12 fritters

Ingredients

2 medium-sized zucchinis
¼ cup feta cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup chopped Italian parsley
3 scallion (green onion) stalks, finely chopped
1 lemon
¾ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup Greek yogurt
12 baby lettuce leaves

Directions

1. On the large holes of a box grater, shred the zucchini into about 2 cups of strands. Add to a large bowl with the feta cheese, egg, scallions, flour, parsley and salt.
2. Zest the lemon and add about ½ teaspoon of the zest to the zucchini mixture. Then slice the lemon in half and squeeze half of the juice into the mixture and squeeze the other half into a small bowl and combine with the Greek yogurt. Set the yogurt mixture aside.
3. In a medium-sized skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and place paper towels three layers thick on a plate within arm’s reach of the skillet.
4. Form the slider-sized patties with your hands, squeezing excess liquid out before gently placing in the hot oil. The patties should fit snugly in your palm.
5. Fry the patties, 3-4 at a time, cooking for two minutes on one side before flipping and cooking for an additional two minutes. Remove the patties from the oil carefully and drain on the paper-towels.
6. Serve the patties with a dollop of the lemon-yogurt sauce wrapped in a lettuce leaf.

Related on Eco Salon

Zucchini and Goat Cheese Sliders 

Vegan Leek and Zucchini Gratin 

Eggplant Zucchini Lasagna 

Photo credit: Ally Jane Grossan

The post Zucchini Patties Recipe with Lemon-Yogurt Sauce appeared first on EcoSalon.

Define “ethical food.”

The further food has to travel, the worse it is for the environment, right? It’s the reason we equate shopping locally with being ethical. Problem is – it’s rarely that simple. As Robin McKie outlined at the Guardian back in 2008, it’s quite possible for air-freighted food to be greener than locally-sourced produce – so working out which is more ethical can be tricky, to say the least.

Part of the issue is what constitutes “ethical.” Are we talking about nothing but carbon footprints, or are we factoring in the human cost? After all, the positive economic impact on local businesses is part of the argument for shopping locally – so could the reverse be true? Could there be a situation where the right thing to do is ship food in from elsewhere?

That could be the case with Greece, as Adam Davidson suggested at the New York Times this week. EU law stipulates that for feta cheese to be legally permitted to carry the name, it must come from Greece. That hasn’t stopped other countries producing their own carefully rebranded feta-clones, of course – but since the luxury food market is all about authenticity, Greece has an opportunity to make a dent in its formidable economic deficit.  It could export of its most famous – and uniquely branded –  foodstuffs, from feta to Kalamata olives to the regional olive oils still regarded as the world’s finest, and it could do so at luxury-goods prices. In doing so, it would improve the lives of countless Greek workers, many of which are already turning back to the land to make their living…

What’s wrong with this picture? Greece’s regulatory infrastructure is shambolic, corruption remains a major issue (so some of that money would inevitably be creamed off the top by the unscrupulous) and this potential “agricultural revolution” requires solidarity and a leader – but as Davidson suggests, it’s tantalizing that part of the solution to Greece’s current woes could come from the very things it’s been doing so well for thousands of years.

If we decide burning extra carbon to help a beleaguered country is the ethical thing to do, of course.

Image: Linda Cronin

The post Local Food Is Ethical? Tell That To Greece appeared first on EcoSalon.