Golden Brown Zucchini Cakes

This upcoming fall is wedding season for me. My fairly small family rarely has a wedding to attend, but throughout my three and a half year relationship with my boyfriend and his large Italian family has led me to attend more weddings than I had ever attended in my life thus far. A common appetizer at weddings is crab cakes and since I began a vegetarian diet over five years ago I have been tempted with them, always reexamining my morals and second guessing myself. I have found an equally delicious substitute, zucchini cakes!

Ingredients:

1 Large Zucchini
3 Cloves of Garlic
¾ Cup of Breadcrumbs
½ Cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Oregano
½ Teaspoon Thyme
½ Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
Pinch of Salt and Pinch of Pepper
Olive Oil, enough to cover the bottom of pan




Step One:
Wash the zucchini, and then grate with the large-holed side of the grater.








Step Two:
Squeeze out most of the liquid from the grated zucchini by ringing out in a clean kitchen towel. As you will learn after completing this step, this is very important.










Step Three:
Preheat the oil in a frying pan. Then mix zucchini, garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, eggs, and herbs in a bowl.










Step Four:
Form mixture into small patties and lightly place them in the pan (Tip:make sure the pan is hot before you put in the cakes to assure that the oil isn't absorbed into the food giving it a greasy taste)










Step Five:
Cook until golden brown on both sides and serve. I ate mine with brown mustard and it was surprisingly good. Enjoy!