Zucchini Fritters with Roasted Garlic Aioli
These Zucchini Fritters with Roasted Garlic Aioli are the perfect summer appetizer or side dish. They are one of my mother-in-law’s specialties, beloved by her entire large, Italian family. When I first tried them I was shocked by how much fantastic basil and garlic flavor was in every bite of these fritters. With gardens so full of zucchini right now, this is a great dish to make to celebrate the height of zucchini season.
The Equipment Needed
- A Vegetable Grater- You will need this to shred your zucchini. You could also use the grater attachment on your food processor.
- A Cast Iron Skillet- I think a cast iron skillet does the best job of frying these fritters, although I think my mother-in-law uses a non-stick skillet. But, I really think the cast iron skillet helps make my fritters crisp, and not greasy.
- A Food Processor- You will need this for the aioli, although my food processor bowl was in the dishwasher tonight, so I just used a whisk.
The Ingredients Needed for the Zucchini Fritters with Roasted Garlic Aioli
- The Zucchini- One of the things I like about this dish is that you do not have to peel the zucchini, and you don’t have wring the water out of it , as you do in some fritter recipes.
- The Bread Crumbs- I use 4C plain breadcrumbs.
- The Garlic- I usually make a garlic-free batch for my garlic hating daughter. But, the garlic adds an awful lot of flavor.
- The oil- Be sure to use regular olive oil to fry these fritters, not extra virgin olive oil, which is not fit to fry in. Also, do not use vegetable or canola oil, as the olive oil imparts a lot of flavor to the fritters.
How I Made the Fritters
- The first thing I did was roast my garlic. Now, if you really don’t want to heat up your oven on a hot day, just microwave the ramekin of garlic with just 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 3 minutes. The garlic comes out kind of chewy, but I feel it’s a good alternative for a hot day.
- Next, I made my aioli, and then put it in the refrigerator to chill.
- I also mixed up the fritter batter, and let that chill up. If you’re in a hurry, you can cut down on this chilling time, and the fritters will still be fine.
- Finally, I heated up my oil and fried the fritters.
- You can serve these as an appetizer, or a side dish.
- I made these just tonight and served them as a side dish with salmon and Israeli couscous.
As I said earlier, these are a great family favorite in my husband’s family. My mother-in-law makes them year round, for everyday dinners, as well as, holidays. Her mother made them all the time, too, back in Italy, to use up the abundance of olive oil they had on their olive tree farm. My kids have always liked these fritters, too, so I have made them regularly over the years. So, I can promise you, this is really great dish to get kids to eat zucchini, and a real family pleaser, in general.
Zucchini Fritters with Roasted Garlic Aioli
Equipment
- Cast Iron or other heavy skillet
- grater
Ingredients
For the Zucchini Fritters:
- 2 cups zucchini, coarsely grated
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup flour
- ⅓ cup plain dried breadcrumbs
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 6 tbsp. chopped basil
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ¾ tsp. black pepper
- 1½ cups olive oil or veg
For the Roasted Garlic Aioli:
- 12 large cloves of garlic
- 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- ½ cup mayonnaise
Instructions
For the Zucchini Fritters:
- In a large mixing bowl mix together all the ingredients, except for the oil. Let the mixture rest in the refrigerator, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Heat a ¼ inch of oil in a large cast iron skillet. The oil is hot enough when a little bit of batter dropped in starts to sizzle immediately.
- Form each fritter by scooping up 2 tablespoons of batter, and then placing it in the hot oil. Flatten each fritter with the back of a spoon. Fry them on both sides until they are golden brown. Fry about 8 at a time and then drain them on a wire rack.
For the Roasted Garlic Aioli:
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Place the oil and garlic in a ceramic ramekin, cover tightly, and bake for one hour.
- Process all the ingredients in a food processor.
