Zucchini Pancakes [RECIPE]

If you've got a garden, it doesn't matter how closely you watch your zucchini. You can turn your head to sneeze and turn back only to find they've magically grown to mammoth sizes.

You might notice if you try to eat a huge zucchini that the seeds are large, the flesh isn't quite as tender and that it's got a "woody" starchy flavor. But don't throw that gigantuous zucchini away- there's definitely use for it!

Super huge zucchini isn't so great for cooking by itself because the marrow is extremely watery, but there are some things you can do with it. You can cut it in half, hollow it out and then stuff it with pretty much anything you have in the fridge, cover it with mounds of cheese and then pop it in the oven to cook. Or you can do what I did and make zucchini pancakes.

You'll spend about 20 minutes prepping this dish and about 10 minutes cooking it. Depending on the size of your zucchini and how much you grate, this can serve anywhere from 5 to 10 people. Most people serve zucchini pancakes with sour cream and put them out as a side dish or appetizer, but not me. In my house, we eat them as our main meal. As a matter of fact, our dinner last night consisted of roasted Brussels sprouts and zucchini pancakes. Delicious!

Ingredients:
2 cups of grated zucchini
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped green onion or finely diced onion
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch dried oregano
1 pinch of garlic powder
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:
1. Grate your zucchini. I used my KitchenAid attachment, but you can also use a cheese grater- just be sure to use the big grater part. After you've grated the zucchini, you can either blot it with paper towels to remove the extra moisture, or do what I do and squeeze it with my hands. Just make sure your hands are well washed and only squeeze a handful at a time, transferring the squeezed zucchini to a different bowl so you're not adding it back into the liquid.

2. Stir the grated zucchini, eggs, and onion in a large bowl. Mix flour, Pnko, baking powder, salt, and oregano in a separate bowl; stir mixture into zucchini until batter is just a little bit moistened.

3. Heat olive oil (you can also use veggie oil if you want, but I use olive oil for pretty much everything I cook) in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Drop rounded spoonfuls of zucchini batter into the hot oil and pan fry until they're golden. It should take about 2-3 minutes per side.

4.  Drain pancakes on a paper towel-lined plate and serve with a dollop of sour cream.