Sunday, November 27, 2011

Zucchini Fritters with Mozzarella and Stewed Cherry Tomatoes


Today, I'm sharing a recipe that we enjoyed as an appetizer at our last gourmet gathering at the very end of October. The recipe wasn't assigned to us but I finally got around to making them myself just before Thanksgiving. Although this is a wonderful fall harvest recipe, the ingredients are available at most stores year round. Fresh herbs have been also increasingly available and, at my store, I can buy fresh, living basil in the winter when it's most appreciated.

The stewed grape tomatoes in this recipe are actually cherry tomatoes from my garden. I had quite a few tomatoes that I harvested from my prolific Tumbling Tom cherry tomato plant before the first frost that I froze for recipes just like this.


Tip:  My favorite way to remove excess moisture from grated and shredded zucchini is squeezing it with a potato ricer! You'd be amazed at how much moisture this removes to obtain wonderfully crispy fritters - whether with zucchini or potatoes!


Zucchini Fritters with Fresh Mozzarella and Stewed Grape Tomatoes

(A recipe created by our gourmet group hosts based on several zucchini fritter recipes.)
Printable Recipe

1 pound (about 2 medium sized) zucchini, coarsely grated
5 scallions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 eggs
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Vegetable or olive oil for frying

Fresh mozzarella (preferably buffalo), and
Fresh basil for garnish

Stewed Cherry Tomatoes

2 pint cherry (or grape) tomatoes, rinsed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Additional Italian seasonings of your choice - I used the Ariosto seasoning for tomato-based sauces which contains salt, so I deleted any additional salt. Dried oregano and basil would also taste good.

To prepare the zucchini fritters, mix the first 10 ingredients together in a large bowl until blended.

Heat oil in a very large skillet over medium heat and cook fritters in two batches. Drop 2 tablespoons of batter into mounds in the skillet. Do not crowd. Flatten slightly. Cook until browned, for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning over once. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining batter.

To prepare the stewed grape tomatoes, place olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking and continuously stirring tomatoes until the skins begin to break open (approximately 8 to 10 minutes). Add the sugar and vinegar and continue cooking for approximately 5 more minutes. Note: I found this process took longer than stated to thicken the tomatoes.

To assemble, place zucchini fritter on an appetizer plate and top with one slice of fresh buffalo mozzarella, 1 tablespoon of stewed grape tomatoes and fresh basil.

55 comments:

  1. Very nice appetizer. Love that you used your own tomatoes.

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  2. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday. It's so wonderful that you were able to use the cherry tomatoes from your yard and fresh herbs. This is such a beautiful appetizer.

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  3. I've made zucchini fritters, but absolutely LOVE the way you served them, Susan. What fun to use your own tomatoes!

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  4. I love fried zucchini and with the addition of fresh mozzarella and basil and those tomatoes - wow! I have to make this. xo

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  5. The grated lemon zest and YOUR tomatoes.. makes this recipe a beautiful tryer and keeper:)

    Not to mention the photos..So clear and true .

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  6. What a lovely appetizer Susan, perfect for next Christmas time!

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  7. Looks good - thanks for sharing. A couple of those would make a nice light lunch.

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  8. This dish is colorful and lovely! Crispy and creamy and full of tomato flavor too - yum!

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  9. I could probably make these and Randy would never know there's zucchini in them! Looks great :-)

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  10. Beautiful and tasty...you have my attention! Hugs!

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  11. Nice that you had enough tomatoes to freeze, it looks fantastic. Such a nice combination of flavors.

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  12. I'm jealous every time I think about your fabulous harvest of homegrown tomatoes. What a wonderful way to use them!

    :)
    ButterYum
    PS - made your cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving again this year. It's such a wonderful recipe!

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  13. Mmm what a great appetizer recipe! I absolutely love zucchini fritters and these so mouthwateringly delicious! Please check out my recipe for caponata that I think you'll enjoy: http://bit.ly/tgo2sB

    Thanks!

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  14. Great appetizer! I'm so used to mozzarella on top of the tomatoes - putting it on zucchini fritters is something new!

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  15. Lovely recipe. So wonderful to use your own tomatoes too. Cherry and grape tomatoes are about the only good winter tomatoes.
    Sam

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  16. Susan, this is a recipe that we would enjoy. Plenty of tomatoes and zucchini in my freezer too ;o)

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  17. What a great idea for a holiday appetizer! Not to mention it looks delicious!

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  18. It looks wonderful! I bet could sub potato fritters for the z. I am not allowed to bring those into the house, lol!
    Hope you had a wonderful Tgiving!

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  19. I love all the combinations of flavors. This looks like a very delicious appetizer my family would enjoy, Susan.

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  20. This looks wonderfully delectable just as
    all your recipes do! Thanks for sharing them with us.

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  21. Love to find something New to serve and this is really great!Great presentation of flavours; merci. I have been looking at you cookies of the side bar; spectacular!
    Rita

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  22. A nice remembrance of summer past! This is perfect for a starter or a light lunch. Fortunately, I tossed some tomatoes in the freezer for just such a dish.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  23. This looks absolutely delicious and a recipe I definitley want to make.

    Your mentioned your gourmet group, how does your group work? It sounds like the hostess assigns recipes for each participant to bring to the function and how often do you get together? The reason I ask is that I started a group just for the women and on ocassion we include the husbands but the hostess does the entire dinner and I suspect that it is wearing on the hostesses. I was thinking of going to a different plan and would be interested in how your group functions. I don't want our group to get disinterested and fizzle out which is why I am looking for some suggestions.

    Carolyn/A Southerners Notebook

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  24. Thank you, everyone! This is truly a delicious appetizer. You can saute the fritters earlier in the day too and then reheat in a med-hot oven for right before serving.

    Carolyn, our gourmet group has been going for over 20 years! The cast has changed with couples that have moved out of town. One couple even returns to town just for gourmet and they co-host with a sister and brother-in-law.

    In our group, the host and hostess decide on the entire menu and assigns a recipe to each couple. The hosts prepare the main course and sometimes one of the sides and also provides the wine and any other beverages. The assigned recipes are usually the appetizer, soup and salad course, a side dish and the dessert. The menus are always printed out with photos and decorative covers and sent via mail to each couple. It's always fun to receive the menu and your assignment!

    There are 5 couples in our group and we meet 4 times a year, since two couples co-host one dinner. We have a spring, summer, fall and winter gathering so our menus are always seasonal.

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  25. Thanks Susan, this really helps. We have only been doing ours for two years and we have 12 women. It started out with friends who get together for lunch regularly but with other appointments and commitments during the day we really were eating and on the run as soon as we ate. This was an opportunity to really linger over a meal and enjoy each others company and like I mentioned we sometimes include DH's. I really like how your group works and I soooooooo appreciate the info. This may very well work for us and keep the group together.

    Thank you, Carolyn

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  26. I just love zucchini fritters, Susan. What a great idea to include the cheese in the mix and the colors with the tomatoes are gorgeous. I do like the idea of cooking clubs... in a way blogging friend have become that... a virtually cooking club. i learn so much. It's been better than a million cook books!

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  27. zucchini fritters are a traditional lebanese dish (in rural areas esp) and we all love them! the difference is there they use the inside of the zucchini that has been cored to be stuffed; that way nothing is ever wasted. I love your version the addition of tomato is perfect to counterbalance the fritters.
    Wishing you a great holiday season!

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  28. That's a great idea Susan. Love the colors of this dish not to mention that zucchini is one of my favortie veggies.

    I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and have a wonderful holiday season.

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  29. Not only do these look absolutely delicious, but they are BEAUTIFUL! I love the way you've plated them. Your blog is real eye candy and I love coming to visit. No surprise, that I always leave hungry and loaded with great ideas. :-)

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  30. Wish I belonged to your group! I can't imagine how much fun you have. We have a dinner group but people aren't as adventurous and they kind of stick with their specialty - if they do dessert, they volunteer for desserts, etc. These look fantastic and I am sure they got rave reviews.

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  31. not only does that look super delicious, I love the color in this dish. I went into food coma last week with the holiday menu, and this week I'm looking for lighter fare such as this. I'm adding it to this week's menu! happy week to you Susan.

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  32. Delicious!
    I've always been a fan of zucchini fritters, and those look awesome. And, next year, I'll be keeping my eye out for Tumbling Toms, as my cherry tomatoes fizzled out on me much too soon.

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  33. This looks delicious! Pass me a plate and I think that I'll be able to finish it all up! Looks really good!

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  34. I used to enjoy eating fried egg plant from the pan, looks wonderful. Richard

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  35. This is the kind of recipe I love. It's simple, elegant and nutritious. I can't wait to try it.

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  36. This is such an awesome transition food and I love how it autumn-ifies typically summer ingredients!

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  37. These look so delicious, and even though they are appetizers, I could make a meal of them. Yum.

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  38. Fried zucchinis and zucchini fritters are so much loved here in Greece and they are part of our kitchen. I love the combination of flavors you used in this recipe Susan!

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  39. Such a beautiful zucchini fritter! Green,red,white...you have all the X'mas colours in this single appetizer. Ain't it just awesome!

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  40. these look great reminds me of summer :-)

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  41. Loving the way those zucchini fritters look. I would have been stalking these at a gathering once I saw them.

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  42. My-oh-My...This looks great, Susan! I'm a fan of zucchini and absolutely love your gorgeous fritters. The addition of mozzarella and grape tomato sauce sounds perfect :)

    HUGS <3

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  43. This is such a beautiful dish. Love your presentation and combination of flavor.

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  44. What a great appetizer. It looks so appealing, and we love mozzarella!
    Can always use another way to cook zucchini and tomatoes!

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  45. I know I will always find something delicious waiting for me when I come to visit, Susan. I don't have meat on the menu very often and these beautiful little fritters would make a perfect lunch or light dinner.

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  46. this looks so yummy! Ive bookmarked it ready to get the ingredients next time I brave the supermarket, thanks! Belle

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  47. Thank you for all of your kind comments! I love re-purposing those frozen garden tomatoes.

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  48. Those look delicious! I have 3 garden zucchini's in my cold bin begging to be used soon.

    di

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  49. This is my kind of YUM. I really do not eat meat and love distilled tomatoes. The zucchini cake sounds moist and perfect with the cheese and topping. YUM!
    I have enjoyed myself browsing through your site and cannot believe what I have missed this past week!
    Just to let you know - I have 4 little ones invited over to make candy cane cookies Wednesday. Last year we made big fat gingerbread cookies together - and this year it will be YOUR recipe.
    :)
    V

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  50. very good, however i would use peeled plum tomatoes next time. i dont like the skins from the grape

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  51. I love the way the zucchini fritters don't have a lot too many ingredients- looks totally doable. And the lemon zest adds such a nice kick to it- I look forward to eating these!

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