Potato, Zucchini, and Spinach Fritters

⏳ Time

1 hour

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

I am gradually starting to prepare dishes from an amazing book by Charlie Smith - Food 2.0 - Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google. Charlie managed to showcase such a famous company as Google in a new light. It is well known how carefully they approach the nutrition of their employees, which is free. Many believe that the quality and variety of dishes served in Google's cafeterias (there are 8 on the headquarters' campus in Palo Alto, if I'm not mistaken) surpasses many restaurants. So, I present to you California-style Draniki — forgive me for the loose interpretation of spinach pancakes according to Smith. I allowed myself to deviate a bit from Charlie's recipe, as cooking is creativity...

Ingredients

Salad Potatoes - 2 pieces
Spinach - 2.5 oz
Courgette - 1 piece
Chicken Egg - 1 piece

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Take two medium potatoes and half a medium zucchini. The original recipe does not include zucchini, but I thought it would be quite fitting in this recipe. Grate everything and thoroughly squeeze out all the juice. You'll understand why this is important later. It's very effective to squeeze the juice using a spoon through a sieve. Take spinach, either fresh or frozen. I prefer chopped frozen spinach — it already has the right consistency. If using fresh, about 1 cup. For frozen, 2 portions. I also add finely chopped arugula — I like it, but that's optional. Squeeze out the juice as well. Finely chop a small onion — treat it the same way with the juice. Mix everything together. It's important that the mixture is quite dry. Beat 1 egg, add it along with 3 tablespoons of flour (preferably coarse) to the vegetable mixture and mix everything thoroughly. If you take too long, the juice may start to separate again. To neutralize it, add another tablespoon of flour or the chefs' secret weapon — breadcrumbs. They are useful to add when you need to reduce the moisture of the dish — breadcrumbs absorb liquid excellently. Add salt, black pepper, and seasonings (a Provençal or Italian mix works well) to taste.

Step 2

Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan, quite a bit, so that the bottom is covered. Heat over medium heat. Now comes the delicate process — starting to fry. Take a tablespoon of the prepared mixture and drop a ball into the oil. It's important to swirl the ball in the pan a few times so that the mixture absorbs the oil. Now you understand why it's important for the mixture to be quite sticky and not runny — otherwise, you will just pour it into the pan and it will spread out, and you won't be able to roll the ball in the oil. After flipping the potato-spinach-zucchini ball a few times, flatten it to form a fritter. That's it, you can start frying. The degree of frying is up to you. I love everything crispy, so I fry until a characteristic brown crust forms. Fortunately, potatoes and zucchini allow for that.

Step 3

Place the fritters on a plate. They should be eaten while still warm. The most important thing is not to eat the first ones while frying the next batch.

Step 4

And my personal sauce for this simple yet exquisite dish — a sauce made from sour cream, a few drops of balsamic vinegar, and paprika. A glass of beer will be quite fitting. And I must honestly admit — I broke my own rule and ate the first fritter without waiting for the others. I wish the same for you! Your iCook.