Cheesy Zucchini Balls

I had many thoughts in mind for the platter this week – lots of different produce in glut and lots of occasions for sharing.  But in the end I had one of those weekends where time just runs out and I found myself ditching all the cordon bleu options and going for very quick and easy.  This is not the super healthiest of recipes but it’s a way of turning bulk zucchini into deliciousness in minutes.

The Recipe:

Makes 18 balls – a good quantity for a party plate or a platter for two with accompaniments.

Grate 1½ cups (packed) of zucchini. Put it in a strainer over the sink and squeeze out as much liquid as you easily can.  You don’t need to be too diligent, but you want it a bit drier than zucchini naturally is.

Put a thick slice of bread in the food processor and blend it to fine crumbs.  You want 65 grams, which is about a cup, of soft breadcrumbs.  I used my Eggs and Yoghurt Sourdough, but I think just about any bread would do it.

Mix the grated zucchini and the breadcrumbs with

• 1 egg
• 100 grams of smooth feta cheese, crumbled. (You can substitute low fat ricotta and a bit of salt, which is still good but you won’t get the same melted cheese middle).

Use your hands to mix it all together.

Grate 40 grams of parmesan cheese on the fine side of the grater, like this:

Take teaspoons full of the zucchini/feta/breadcrumbs mix, and with wet hands roll it into little balls.  It should stick together nicely.  Roll each ball in grated parmesan to coat it well.

Heat about 1 cm of light olive oil or another shallow frying oil in a heavy pan.  Fry the balls for a minute or two on each side until golden.

Drain on brown paper and serve with a chutney or salsa dipping sauce. I served these on a platter with fresh raw cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumber, which make a nice contrast for the cheesy richness, and with three salsas – pomegranate and roast chili, basil and pepita, and mango.  The pomegranate and roast chili was the best, so good that I’m going to play with it a bit more to get the quantities written down then post the recipe.