Cinnamon Apple Zucchini Fritters Recipe

An Original Recipe Brought to You
From the Farmhouse Kitchen at Root & Branch Farms

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded apples
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs or vegan equivalent (I use Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer)
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 dash nutmeg
• 1 dash allspice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
• Oil

Instructions:

1. Rinse and peel the apples. Using a coarse grater (a box grater with the larger holes), grate the apples. If you have a food processor (like a Cuisinart) which has a shredder attachment, that also works well and will save you time. Add the shredded apples to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Note: you can use whatever type of apple you prefer. I typically use Pink Lady apples, but McIntosh or Cortland would be good options as well.
2. Rinse the zucchini. Leave the peel on. Using the coarse grater or food processor, grate the zucchini. Add to the mixing bowl.
3. Add the salt to the mixing bowl. Stir well, so that the salt is evenly distributed throughout the zucchini and apples. Let stand for 15 minutes. (The salt helps to draw the liquid out of the zucchini and apples.)
4. After the 15 minutes are up, drain the excess liquid from the zucchini and apples. You can use a paper towel, clean cheesecloth, or even just your hands, but whatever method you utilize, ensure that you’ve squeezed out as much liquid as you can. This step is very important, because if you have too much liquid from the zucchini and apples, it will make the fritters soggy and they will not fry as well. Put the zucchini and apples back into the mixing bowl. Slightly separate / fluff up the zucchini and apple shreds so that they can mix well with the ingredients listed in the next step.
5. Add the eggs (or vegan egg replacer), baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, and sugar to the bowl, and mix thoroughly. (The baking powder helps make the fritters fluffy.)
6. Add the plain bread crumbs and the panko bread crumbs to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
7. Form into twenty fritters, about 2 inches in diameter and about a quarter of an inch thick. Press the mixture together firmly to form the fritter, gathering the stray bits of breadcrumbs. The fritters should not be too thick. If they are too thick, they will not cook thoroughly.
8. While forming the fritters, begin heating the oil in a large skillet. How much oil you need will depend on the size of your skillet. (You may have to replenish the oil midway through cooking the batch of fritters.)
9. When the oil is hot, carefully add the fritters to the skillet. It’s recommended to fry four or five fritters at a time (depending on your skillet size of course), since you need space in between the fritters in order to easily flip them. Also, if you overcrowd the skillet with too many fritters, it will affect the cook time.
10. Fry on medium temperature until the one side is golden brown, and then flip and cook the other side until golden brown. Cooking time will depend on how hot your oil is. You do not want to have the oil too hot, as this will quickly cook the outside while not cooking the inside enough.
11. When the fritters are done, remove them from the skillet and place on a plate that has a paper towel on it (to help draw away excess oil). When the oil has been wicked away, discard the paper towel.
12. Serve the fritters hot. Sprinkle them with powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy!

Yields 20 fritters.