Vegan Zucchini Pancakes with Whipped Feta Dip
I sometimes wonder what my problem with zucchinis is because I never buy them. They taste too limp to me, often get soggy when fried, have no crunch, no spice, don't add any creaminess to dishes, and therefore somehow never end up in my shopping basket. I could just end this little rant now and think that it's just the way it is, and that's that, BUT there is one dish with zucchinis that I actually like. And so, curtain up for our zucchini pancakes!
But how is it that I suddenly like zucchinis in this recipe after all? Over time, I kept adapting the recipe until it became crispy, salty, sour, fresh and wonderfully spicy. In other words, everything that I don't associate with zucchinis. I grate them finely and squeeze them to make the pancakes as crispy as possible. Rice flour is also close to my side here, as it makes them even crispier. Breadcrumbs add a hearty flavor to the pancakes, as do the onions. At the end, I almost deep-fried the pancakes so that you can hear the crunch in the neighbor's house. I serve them with a salty, fluffy, whipped feta dip and a fresh and sour cucumber salad.
And 45 minutes, a dip and a cucumber salad later, I've somehow reconciled myself to the little green curls because I really like them as crispy pancakes. Even if it takes a while to get there, it's definitely worth it.
Vegan Zucchini Pancakes with Whipped Feta Dip
Ingredients
For the zucchini pancakes:
- 450 g (15.75 oz) zucchinis
- 2 onions
- 100 g (3.5 oz) breadcrumbs
- 50 g (1.75 oz) rice flour
- 3 tbsp yeast flakes
- salt
- pepper
For the vegan whipped feta dip:
- 1 clove of garlic
- 150 g (5.25 oz) vegan feta
- 100 g (0.5 cup) vegan yogurt (unsweetened)
- 0.5 lemon
- 0.5 tsp rosemary
- white pepper
- Harissa (optional)
For the cucumber salad:
- 1 cucumber
- 2 spring onions
- 20 g (0.75 oz) fresh herbs (parsley, dill, chives)
- 1 lemon
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
For the cucumber salad, finely chop the cucumber, finely slice the spring onions and finely chop the herbs. Mix everything together in a bowl and season with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set the cucumber salad aside and leave to stand.
For the vegan whipped feta dip, peel and finely chop the garlic and mix it with the vegan feta and yogurt in a food processor. Season with lemon juice, rosemary and white pepper and set aside.
For the zucchini pancakes, grate the zucchinis and squeeze out as much liquid as possible using a clean kitchen towel.
Peel the onions and cut into strips. In a large bowl, combine the zucchinis, onions, breadcrumbs, rice flour, yeast flakes, salt and pepper and knead well with your hands.
Heat a frying pan with neutral vegetable oil and shape the mixture into pancakes. Gradually fry the pancakes on both sides until golden brown. Serve the zucchini pancakes with vegan whipped feta dip, cucumber salad and optionally some harissa.
