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Squash and carrots team in flavorful fritters

Recipe: End-of-summer squash in a side dish or appetizer

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 22, 2024

These squash and carrot fritters make a great side dish, but also can be cooked mini-size for appetizers. Debbie Arrington

What can you do with the last squash of summer? So often, these latecomers are over-sized or thick-skinned. (And you’ve exhausted your squash recipes and your family’s appetite.)

This adaptable recipe can use any kind of summer squash – yellow crookneck, patty pan, zucchini or hybrids. Grated carrot adds color and crunch.

Crookneck squash — The last squash is not usually the best squash,
but it's perfect for fritters.

Full size, these fritters make a tasty side dish to salmon, chicken or pork. Or make them a vegetarian entree.

Top with a little sour cream or plain yogurt, if desired, along with more chopped chives.

Perfect for dipping, mini-fritters are kid-sized – sort of like little veggie nuggets. They also make good appetizers. Serve with ranch dressing or plain yogurt.

End-of-summer squash fritters

Makes 4 fritters or 12 mini-fritters

Ingredients:

1 pound summer squash

Salt

½ cup grated carrot

2 tablespoons grated onion

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1 tablespoon chopped chives, plus more for garnish

½ teaspoon garlic salt

¼ cup flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

Vegetable oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Plain yogurt or sour cream, optional

Instructions:

Fritters cooking in pan — Cook the fritters about 3 minutes per side.

De-stem squash. Remove any large or hard seeds. Grate with a large-hole grater.

Put squash in a colander and sprinkle with salt; gently stir. Let drain for 10 minutes.

Transfer grated squash to a clean dishcloth. Wrap the squash in the dishcloth and gently squeeze out the water.

While the squash is draining, combine the grated carrot and onion in a medium bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in beaten egg, Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon chives and garlic salt.

Fold in the drained and squeezed squash. Sprinkle the flour and baking powder over the mixture; stir to combine.

Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Set aside.

Cover the bottom of a heavy skillet with about 1/8 inch of oil, about ¼ cup. Heat the oil over medium high heat. Drop 1/4-cup scoops of the squash mixture into the hot oil and gently press down with the back of a spoon.

Note: For mini-fritters, use 1 large tablespoon per fritter.

Cook the squash patties until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Adjust heat as needed so patties don’t cook too fast. Remove to paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Serve warm with plain yogurt or sour cream and chopped chives.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipe recipes squash carrots cooking appetizer side dish Sacramento gardening farmers markets produce management backyard produce fall September

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Garden checklist for week of June 7

Afternoon highs are expected to be back in the mid 90s by midweek, then edging towards triple digits. Plan your planting and garden activities accordingly.

* Remember to water early.

* It’s not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or other summer favorites. Make sure they stay hydrated.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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