Fry

GREEK STYLE ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

by:
October 22, 2011
4
1 Ratings
  • Makes 12 3 inch pancakes, or 24 bite sized pancakes
Author Notes

Here's my own spin on a zucchini pancake, strongly influenced by the Greek cooking that I enjoyed a few years ago, mostly on the island of Kefalonia. If your garden is like mine, you are feeling a little overwhelmed by the tide of zucchini spilling out . The pancakes are great as a side dish and perfect as an appetizer if you make miniatures. —dymnyno

Test Kitchen Notes

I love zucchini and these pancakes sounded so tasty. I was skeptical that two pounds of zucchini grated would end up as only two cups after salting/squeezing but it did—I squeezed out almost two cups of liquid. The recipe was easy to follow, the only change I made was to reduce the red pepper flakes by half as my husband and I prefer less heat. These delicious pancakes are a tad greasy from the frying and are very tender, so I’d recommend serving them not as finger food but on a plate with a fork. —janeofmanytrade

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds green zucchini, 2 cups after grating and squeezing as much moisture as possible
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons chives, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh curly parsley, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest(finely zested)
  • 4 tablespoons crumbled Greek feta
  • 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, less if you don't want too much heat
  • 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • olive oil for frying pancakes
Directions
  1. Using the large holes on a box grater, shred the zucchini. Line a colander with cheese cloth and put the zucchini in the colander. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of salt and toss the zucchini. Try to extract as much liquid as you can from the shredded zucchini. Pick up the cheesecloth and wring as much more as you can until you feel the zucchini is pretty dry.
  2. Add the herbs, pepper flakes and feta and zest. Mix.
  3. Add the flour and baking powder and eggs and mix.
  4. Pour a very thin layer of olive oil into a frying pan. Using a tablespoon, scoop a heaping spoonful into the pan and flatten the top a little. This should make a 3 inch patty. Repeat until the pan is full. Fry until a nice brown and flip and cook the other side. For bite sized appetizers, use a teaspoon.
  5. Set aside on paper towels and finish the rest of the pancakes. Pat to remove excessive oil that may be left from frying.
  6. Serve alone or with your favorite yogurt (Greek, of course). The sauce should be very simple, like just with some lemon zest or chives, because there are so many flavors going on in the pancakes.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • LeBec Fin
    LeBec Fin
  • janeofmanytrade
    janeofmanytrade
  • gingerroot
    gingerroot
  • dymnyno
    dymnyno
  • Lizthechef
    Lizthechef

11 Reviews

Tatiana May 14, 2017
You do not need to squeeze zucchini's juice and vitamins with it. Flower absorbs all moisture and saves you time too!
 
LeBec F. April 12, 2012
dymn, In attempting to replicate some long ago memory, i'm looking for a texture that is mostly crispy zucchini- not much pancake part. If you were aiming for that, how might you change the egg and flour components of this? I want to make soon! Thnx so much!
mindy
 
janeofmanytrade December 17, 2011
so, is it baking powder or baking soda? ingredient list states baking powder but the instructions call for baking soda. testing them out tonight and planning to go with baking powder-hope it works!!!
 
dymnyno December 17, 2011
Baking powder...sorry!
 
dymnyno December 17, 2011
Baking powder...sorry!
 
gingerroot October 31, 2011
I made these tonight to go along with pan roasted steak, roasted potatoes and a green salad. Delicious! I did make two changes - I added some sauteed and chopped zucchini blossoms and used sweet white sorghum flour for my gf husband. I will definitely make these again.
 
dymnyno October 24, 2011
I deleted the old pic...this is a little better...I made these last night as appetizers for last minute, wine tasting, let's watch the sunset friends from down the mountain.
 
dymnyno October 23, 2011
Argh! I will post a better pic...this looks like it's from a 1950's cookbook with bad color pictures!
 
dymnyno October 23, 2011
Argh! I will post a better pic...this looks like it's from a 1950's cookbook with bad color pictures!
 
gingerroot October 22, 2011
These sound delicious!! A perfect use for my just-picked-from-the-garden zucchini.
 
Lizthechef October 22, 2011
You may win me over here - not a fan of the zukes, ordinarily.