Zucchini pancakes with green sauce charmoula style
This dish is a tribute to Mark Dronjak's creation from the now-closed Auckland cooking school. Zucchini pancakes are incredibly delicious and can stand alone with just a hint of Charmoula sauce. If you want to elevate this dish to a whole new level, serve them alongside cold-smoked black cod or any other white cold-smoked fish. The combination is simply heavenly. For a complete culinary adventure, pair this dish with Grüner Veltliner.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Zucchini Pancakes
- 2 green or yellow zucchini
- 2 eggs
- 4 tbsp. flour
- 2 sprigs of parsley
- 2 sprigs of mint
- 2 green onions
- 1/3 cup feta cheese
- olive oil for frying
- salt and pepper to taste
- smoked cod optional
Charmoula (Chermoula) Sauce
- ¼ cup olive oil cold-pressed
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ bunch fresh coriander
- ¼ bunch fresh parsley
- 1 tsp fresh oregano leaves
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ lemon for juicing
- salt to taste not shown
Instructions
Zucchini Pancakes
- Grate zucchini, chop the green onion, parsley, and mint. Crumble the feta cheese. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Combine all these ingredients with flour to create the pancake batter. Season the batter with salt and pepper according to taste.
- Let the batter sit for about 5 minutes, allowing it to thicken slightly.
- Meanwhile, ensure your griddle is nice and hot. If you don't have a griddle, preheat a non-stick fry pan to medium or medium-high heat.
- Once the griddle or fry pan is hot, add a small amount of oil to the griddle and spread it evenly across the surface. Ladle about 1/2 to 1 cup of the pancake batter onto the cooking surface. Wait until you see bubbles breaking the surface of the pancakes.
- Carefully flip the pancakes and cook them on the other side until they are fully cooked. The cooking time may vary depending on your heat source and the thickness of the pancakes, usually taking around 3 to 5 minutes.
- To serve, top each pancake with a generous spoonful of the Charmoula sauce. Optionally, you can serve smoked fish on the side to complement the flavors.
Charmula Sauce
- Juice the lemon.
- Next, in a food processor, blend lemon juice, garlic, herbs, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne pepper, allspice, and olive oil. Season with salt and set aside.
Notes
- If the batter is too dry, you can loosen it with a bit of milk.
- If the mixture doesn’t have the batter consistency, add another tablespoon of flour.
- For additional guidance and helpful cooking resources, visit Rouxbe.com, where we learned to cook: Rouxbe.com