Whether it’s the end of summer and you are trying to find an interesting way to use zucchini or you are looking for a tasty way to get your kids to eat more vegetables, these yummy zucchini hash brown cakes are a big hit with kids.  Crispy and buttery on the outside and tender on the inside - they are perfect for little hands because they can be picked up & are delicious with our Cilantro Lime Ranch dip (Recipe follows).

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups of grated Zucchini squeezed of  juice

• 2 cups of hash browns

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup flour

• 1 tsp Kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ½ tsp dry thyme

• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

• ¼ tsp pepper

• Butter and canola oil for cooking

Directions:

1. Using a box grater, grate 2 large zucchini until you have about 2 cups.  Zucchini has a lot of water so you will need to remove some of it by squeezing it out.  Place your grated zucchini in the center of some cheesecloth or paper towels and wring out the excess water.  You may have to do this a couple of times to remove the excess water, if you skip this step your cakes will get soggy.

2. We used dehydrated hash browns for this recipe but, you can use freshly grated potatoes or pre-shredded potatoes as well.  We rehydrated our potatoes, drained them of excess water, and added them & the zucchini to a large bowl.  

3. Add the flour, salt, garlic powder, baking powder, thyme, pepper, and cheese to your zucchini and potatoes and toss to coat. 

4. In a small separate bowl, crack the eggs and beat slightly.  Add them to your zucchini mixture and stir to combine.

5. Take a cooling rack and place it on top of a sheet tray and heat your oven to 325 degrees.  Since you will have to cook your cakes in batches, removing them as they are done and placing them on top of the cooling rack as you cook more will keep them from becoming soggy.  You can make these an hour or so before you eat and keep them warm in your oven on the rack until you are ready to eat.

6. I like to form all my patties before I start cooking them.  I took another sheet tray, lined it with parchment paper, and made all my cakes.  Each cake was about 2 tablespoons of the mixture.  You should be able to make approximately 22 cakes.  

7. Put a medium-sized nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.  Add one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of canola oil.  Add your cakes to the skillet and cook until they are golden brown on one side (about 2 minutes).  Flip them over and cook on the other side until golden on the other side.  Remove to the rack as they are done.   Sprinkle with Kosher salt. If the butter starts to brown too much between batches, stop and carefully wipe out the pan with a paper towel and add more butter and oil and continue cooking.

 

 

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Cilantro Lime Ranch Dip:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream

• ½ cup mayo

• Remove the zest from ½ a lime using a Microplane

• Juice from ½ lime

• 1 Tablespoon buttermilk

• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

• 1 clove garlic grated using a Microplane

• 1 teaspoon shallot grated using a Microplane

• ½  tsp sugar

• Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  If you like a thinner ranch dip, add a touch more buttermilk.