NanisPatea

Procedure

This is just verbatim from an email from my mother. The process is simple but takes a few tries to really get right, patience and practice are the keys. The final batter is about the consistency of pancake batter but not overly doughy. The batter is just glue to hold the vegetables together

Ingredients:  use only fresh vegetables and herbs 

·        squash flowers from zucchini or yellow squash (or pumpkins in the fall); pick the flowers that are not attached to a squash--the male flowers only

·        zucchini, parsley, basil, onion, garlic, black pepper, hot pepper (optional)

·        Eggs, grated cheese (parmesan or romano), flour

·        Oil for frying ( I use canola and olive)

 

·        Chop into small pieces the flowers, zucchini, basil, parsley, onion, and garlic (use a good size bowl to be able to mix all ingredients together)

·        Salt the vegetables and herbs and leave on counter for at least 1 hour

·        Mix one/two eggs depending on amount of vegetables used, add some grated cheese and enough flour to absorb any liquid in the vegetables.  If there is not enough liquid, add a very small amount of water to make a batter.

·        Place tablespoonfuls of vegetable batter in hot oil --flatten the batter gently to form a patty --when sides of batter are browned, flip and cook other side (use enough oil to cover half of the fritter)--my suggestion is to use a small frying pan with lots of oil and try cooking a few fritters first.

·        Place cooked fritters on paper towels to absorb the oil

·        Enjoy them while they are hot -- 

-- ChristopherPepe - 09 Aug 2009