Zucchini + Kale Fritters with Avocado Crema

If I’m honest, some of my most favorite recipes have been accidents. They were thrown together when I had no other choice but to get creative. Maybe it’s the pressure? Maybe I want to secretly be on ‘Chopped’? Not sure, but either way, these zucchini cakes are no exception to the rule.

Cut to last weekend when I was enjoying my “no plans Saturday” so much so that I refused to leave the house to go battle through the sea of people at Wegmans. Instead, I opened my fridge to see what we were working with. Well, I’ll tell you rather quickly: zucchini, kale, eggs, an onion, half an avocado, a tiny bit of goat cheese, and almond milk. When I tell you things were scarce, I really mean it.

I took a look at the zucchini and the same usual ideas came to mind: chop + saute, make a bread, or turn them into cakes. I was so sick of sauteing them, was not going to whip up a zucchini bread for dinner (I’m also not the best baker, it requires way more attention to measuring than I’m down for), and remembered my mom had recently made zucchini cakes. SOLD.. challenge accepted.

I threw a bunch of things together that relatively made sense and hoped it would be somewhat enjoyable for dinner, at the very least. While they were cooking, I kept trying to think of a sauce on top and everything that came to mind required a pit stop at the store (which was not happening because my fritters were cooking, remember?). I grabbed the almost-bad avocado and figured that with a little love, it would do.

If I’m being really, really honest. I styled and photographed these babes before even tasting them. Am I psychotic? I literally spent time taking good photos before even knowing if I could share them with you. 1. They looked too pretty to not shoot and 2. I have a weird intuition when cooking and somehow trusted they would be great. Well, they even surprised me by how good they were and now they’re here for you! Crispy. Filling. Summery. Crazy simple.

The kale adds extra greens and the almond meal adds a nice texture (and some protein), but feel free to change out the greens or swap the almond meal for regular flour (you’ll just need to use less and omit the coconut flour as it’ll be more absorbent). As long as the texture works and they stick together, you’re good!

INGREDIENTS:

(makes about 8 cakes)

1 large zucchini (around 2 cups, packed)
2 large eggs
1 small yellow onion
1 cup shredded kale
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
2 TBSP coconut flour
1/2 TSP garlic powder
1 TSP salt
pepper to taste

avocado crema:
half an avocado
2 tbsp goat cheese
1 TBSP lemon juice
pinch of salt/pepper
splash olive oil
water (optional)

TO MAKE:

Grate zucchini and squeeze out all of the excess water using paper towel or a thin dish towel. This is key! Do not skip this step.

Chop onion and kale into small pieces. Combine everything into one bowl until well mixed.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat with your oil of choice. I used a mix of coconut oil + olive oil (the coconut oil has a higher melting point so it prevents the mix from burning).

Form the mixture into small patties, and cook for about 3 minutes on each side.

In the mean time, mix up all ingredients for the avocado crema in either a blender, food processor, or manually with a whisk. You really can’t mess it up so adjust the ingredients to your liking. Add in some water to thin it out if you prefer that consistency.

Enjoy! These can also be stored in an air tight container for about 3 days in the fridge. They’ll be best when reheated in a pan.