Frittering Away

Most would agree that frittering is not to be encouraged. Compulsive gamblers fritter away their savings. Irresponsible heirs fritter away their inheritances. Graduate students fritter away their summers. Hard drinking and smoking can fritter away one's health. But I have recently been frittering away in the kitchen, and I can't complain about the results.

This was the first time I experienced frittering of this sort in the kitchen. I have leaned my elbows on the counter as I mindlessly flipped through fashion magazines. I have stood before a simmering pot, happily stirring something or other which I knew did not require this sort of vigilance. I have chopped garlic or parsley well beyond what was necessary just because I liked the feel of it. But zucchini frittering was something I had never considered until I came across this recipe in Deborah Madison's tome on vegetarian cooking. A quick scan of the ingredients list confirmed that zucchini fritters were just the thing for a light summer dinner.

Incidentally, I love this cookbook. Ms. Madison knows her vegetables. She takes them seriously, and by that I do not mean that she somberly dresses them up beyond recognition in fancy dishes. She simply knows that vegetables deserve more than side dish status, and she never has to come right out and say it. Her recipes say it for her. She has arranged the substantial Vegetable chapter of her book alphabetically according to the principal vegetable ingredient, a choice which I doubt would work for any other food group, but here is brilliant. It puts the focus on the vegetable, gathers into one convenient spot several ways of cooking that vegetable, and the index need not even be consulted if you have a notion of what veggie you want to cook. She offers helpful little hints in the margins about other dishes that would pair well and about the time of year when the ingredients of certain recipes are most in season. It's the type of cookbook that you could fritter away an entire day just browsing.

It should be said that these fritters really do require the frittering of some time: there are zucchini to be shredded and several piles of herbs to be chopped in addition to the time you'll spend hovering over the frying pans. But the product of all this frittering is a speckled green disk with a custard-like interior enclosed by a savory brown crust. I served them with a tomatillo salsa, much like one I recently made to be scooped up by homeade tortilla chips (but minus the cumin and avocado). To fill out the plate: an arugula salad dressed with nothing more than lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Zucchini and Fresh Herb Fritters
adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Serves 4


Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 pounds green or golden zucchini, coarsely grated
3 eggs, beaten (for a vegan recipe, substitute 1/3 cup pureed silken tofu)
1 bunch scallions, including 2 inches of greens
1 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped marjoram or basil
1/2 cup or more half and half
olive oil as needed

1. Lightly salt the zucchini and set it aside in a colander to drain for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the remaining ingredients together except for oil and pepper. Quickly rinse the zucchini, squeeze out the excess water, then stir it into the batter. Season generously with pepper.

2. Film two large skillets with olive oil. (Two skillets are not necessary--it just makes the frying go faster.) When hot, drop in the batter (1/3 cup makes a fritter about 4 inches across), and cook over medium heat until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook the second side. Serve hot with tomatillo salsa.