Sasha's Kitchen: Zucchini Corn Fritters

Farm fresh zucchini and corn are so good this time of year, that I couldn't resist a fun, healthy variation on traditional zucchini fritters. I only fry with canola oil - never with vegetable oil, so they're about as healthy as they can be. I used local corn and zucchini for the recipe and it was absolutely delicious, sweetened by the delicious sweet corn that I shucked. They key to this recipe is squeezing all of the water out of the zucchini, so that it doesn't make an overly watery batter.  This is a great weekday meal, and I plan on making another batch this coming weekend as a dinner party appetizer. A recipe like this really just reminds me of summer!

Sasha's Zucchini Corn Fritters
Two large zucchini (about 4 1/2 cups shredded zucchini)
3 ears of corn, shucked
4 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup curly parsley, minced
pepper to taste
canola oil for frying
serve with lowfat yogurt

Shred the zucchini using a cheese grater and allow to drain as much as possible over a colander or strainer.  Scramble the eggs and mix with the shucked corn, onion, spices, parsley, flour and pepper.  Squeeze the shredded zucchini in handfuls to get rid of as much of the water as possible and then combine with the other ingredients.  Heat about a quarter inch of canola oil in a frying pan. Drop heaps of the zucchini-corn mixture and form circular shaped fritters. Cook until golden on both sides, about 2-3 minutes. Remove and allow to drain on parchment paper. Serve with yogurt.

Sasha's Kitchen: Zucchini Corn Fritters

Sasha's Kitchen: Summer Vegetable Risotto

I can't exactly take all the credit for this dish. I had planned on making a summer vegetable risotto, after the spring vegetable risotto I made a while back was so good. I bought some great locally grown vegetables for the summer dish, but asked my mom and my husband to execute the actual recipe, since Brad is a skilled risotto maker and my mom was visiting. The end result was absolutely spectacular, and luckily we have great notes on each person's contributions to this dish. The vegetables were prepared perfectly, a lovely al dente, and this might just be the best risotto yet at our house - a true feast!

Garden Fresh Summer Vegetable Risotto

2 cups arborio risotto rice

6 cups low sodium chicken stock

4 carrots, chopped

2 ears of corn, shucked

1 cup of fresh english peas

5 scallions, thinly diced

2 yellow zucchini, thinly sliced

zest of two lemons

1 cup of white wine

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 onion, diced

1 heaping tablespoon of diced garlic
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme

Saute the garlic and onions in about three tablespoons of olive oil. Cook for several minutes until the onions are translucent. Then add the arborio rice in three tablespoons of olive oil. Then add the wine and cook over medium heat until half of the white wine is gone and dissipated. Add one cup of chicken stock and allow to reduce before adding the next cup of chicken stock. Keep adding and reducing the chicken stock, one cup at a time until fully reduced and the risotto is fully cooked. In total you will add about six cups of chicken stock. 

The carrots were sliced and steamed in a steamer until almost tender. The peas were separately then steamed in the steamer, also until almost tender. Then, briefly saute the corn kernels in a scant tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the zucchini lightly, separately, in a tablespoon of olive oil. 

Add the vegetables to the risotto. Then mix in the thinly sliced scallions, thyme and lemon zest and a half of cup of grated parmesan cheese, and serve hot.

Sasha's Kitchen: Summer Vegetable Risotto

Sasha's Kitchen: Summer Vegetable Gratin

Gratin is one of the most underrated vegetable side dishes. You can make gratin using onions, parmesan cheese and a whole variety of other ingredients. I have made potato gratin in the past, but hadn't tried using other vegetables. Thomas Keller has a great recipe for a summer vegetable gratin in his cookbook, Ad Hoc At Home.  I decided to change up the recipe a bit to suit my tastes, but went with the inspiration. I served the dish as a side dish with a lightly breaded veal. The combination was stellar and there were no leftovers.

Sasha's Summer Vegetable Gratin (inspired by Thomas Keller's recipe from Ad Hoc at Home)
2 cups onions, diced
fresh thyme
2 plum tomatoes
2 Japanese eggplans (small eggplants)
2 yellow zucchini
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup plaint breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, diced

Combine the diced onions and garlic, and saute for several minutes until the onion is translucent.  Add the thyme.  Fill a gratin dish or lasagna pan (I used my Emile Henry lasagna pan) with the onions, spread evenly. Slice the Japanese eggplants, plum tomatoes and yellow zucchini (I used farm fresh vegetables from Fresh Direct).  Arrange the vegetables neatly in rows on top of the onions. Top with a mixture of the bread crumbs and cheese (I found that using less than Keller recommends is optimal here). Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half, until nicely browned.

To make the veal - coat the veal in a battered egg and dip in flour. Season with paprika, salt and pepper. You can then cook the veal in your skillet.

Sasha's Kitchen: Summer Vegetable Gratin