Zucchini Pancakes with Horseradish Cream

These last several weeks I have been absolutely inundated with farm fresh zucchini in our weekly CSA bins. Mountains of them! I have been grilling them, stuffing them, roasting them with Parmesan cheese, making them into a roasted vegetable tian, and anything else I can possibly think of to use them up in some form of non redundant fashion. In searching for recipes, I stumbled across Ina Garten’s zucchini pancakes recipe, and thought, yes! That’s it! And while her recipe is, I’m sure, positively delectable, I decided to sort of come up with my own take on them, based on what other ingredients I had from the CSA. I started by grating about a pound of both green and yellow zucchini in my food processor fitted with the grating disc. I then placed the shredded zucchini in a colander and sprinkled it with about a tablespoon of salt, and allowed it to sit for about twenty minutes. I then rinsed the zucchini in cold water, and squeezed out as much liquid from them as I could, using my hands. In a large mixing bowl I then combined the drained zucchini, about a cup or so of chopped green onions, a handful each of chopped fresh basil and Italian flat leaf parsley, two large garlic cloves (grated on my microplane zester), four large eggs, a little salt, a healthy grind of black pepper, a dash of chipotle powder, and enough flour to pull it all together (about a half a cup or so). I then heated some extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet, and,while it was heating, mixed together a half a cup of sour cream, a half a teaspoon or so of prepared horseradish (or more depending on the strength of your particular brand), and a dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper. I placed heaping spoonfuls of the zucchini mixture into the hot pan, and cooked them for about two minutes per side, or until nicely golden brown (placing them onto a sheet pan in a 250º oven in between batches to keep them warm). I serve them up with a dollop of the horseradish cream, a sprig of fresh parsley, and a few lemon wedges for squeezing over them. The pancakes are crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. The delicious, savory flavor of the garlic and herbs hit you in waves, with a gentle little nudge from the chipotle powder. The creaminess of the sour cream, and the subtle kick from the horseradish perfectly compliment the pancakes, without overwhelming them.  These are perfect as an appetizer, first course, or lite lunch (and I imagine that they are a great way to get vegetables into your kids).  Now if only I can come up with a use for the REST of Mount St. Zucchini I will be in good shape. Enjoy!

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