Zucchini Chard Cakes

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve shared this zucchini chard cake recipe with folks this summer. I was sure that as soon as I mentioned zucchini, I would be greeted with a sigh and eye roll.

“No more zucchini!” they’d say. “We’ve had enough!”

Because, let’s be honest, each summer, we all have more than enough of the ubiquitous green squash. Even if we don’t, we probably know someone looking to give away a few dozen or so. But to my surprise, as I traveled around making zucchini cake after zucchini cake, I didn’t get one complaint. In fact, people were enthusiastic about finding another way to put it to use.

I’m always happy to be proven wrong. Really. That’s why this became my go-to dish (along with a complimentary tomato basil chutney) for my cooking demos and local food tastings. Apparently, we haven’t reached peak zucchini. Word is still out on kale, though.

 

These cakes use the classic technique of vegetable hiding. Zucchini doesn’t have a strong flavor all on its own, and when you mix it into what is more or less a standard pancake recipe, you hardly can tell it’s there at all. So much so that you can also get away with chopping up even more healthy green stuff – chard and parsley – and mixing it in as well. Simply avoid those fruitless debates with the picky eaters in your life (note: none of mine happen to be kids) and just go ahead and serve these anyway. Before they can tell you how much they don’t like these vegetables, they’ll be happily and unknowingly eating them anyway. Call me cruel, but this is one of my great pleasures in life.

We’re going to need to shred the zucchini. You can do this quite easily with a box grater, or if you intend to shred a large quantity, I’d opt for the food processor as I did here. If not using all of the zucchini at once, it does freeze nicely.

Next, grate the onion. I prefer to grate the onion instead of chop it, as it will blend better into the pancakes.

Remove the stems from the chard and save them for another purpose. Chopped and tossed into a stir fry, perhaps? Then chop the leaves.

Combine the egg, salt, and flour in a bowl. Add in the zucchini, chard, onion, garlic, and parsley and stir to form a thick batter. Add just a splash of milk and the oil to form a more workable, pourable batter.

Heat your skillet and lightly coat it with oil when hot. Preheat the oven to 200F. Pour 1/4 cup spoonfuls of batter onto the hot skillet and cook 2-3 minutes per side until browned. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer the cakes to the oven to keep warm while you cook the remainder of the pancakes.

Serve as a side, topped with tomato chutney, or as a light summer dinner with a side of greens.