Courgette (zucchini) and tofu fritters with avocado, cashew and lime dip

“Westley shrugged. "Welcome to the middle of nowhere. I'm more likely to come home to find someone's left a pie on my counter than to find my television's missing. Although—" He winced.

"What?" Jaylen looked ready to fight whatever threat had made its way into Westley's home.

"Last year the zucchini crop was really good and somebody left three bushels in my kitchen."

"Oh." Jaylen deflated. So there was an enemy he wasn't a match for.

"There's still zucchini bread in the freezer," Westley offered. "If you're hungry.” 

- Ryan Loveless, Wolf Hunter

So what on earth can you do with all those courgettes/zucchinis?

Fear not. 

Here's a real crowd-pleasing recipe, with plenty of scope for modification. 

Courgette (zucchini) and tofu fritters with a creamy avocado, cashew and lime dip are tasty and satisfying and ideal for summer picnics, packed lunches, snacks and to serve as a main meal with a green salad. 

Recipes

Avocado, cashew and lime dip

Ingredients

• ½ cup cashews

• 1 small avocado

• Juice of ½ small lime

• Small pinch of salt if required

Method

1. Soak cashew nuts in water for 1-2 hours. While the cashews are soaking, prepare the courgette (zucchini) fritters following the instructions below.

2. When the cashews have finished soaking, drain them. Cut avocado in half, remove the stone, scoop out flesh and blend with cashews, adding lime juice and salt to taste

Courgette (zucchini) and tofu fritters

Ingredients

• 2 medium courgettes (zucchini) 

• 1 small white onion (grated) or 3 spring onions (scallions) (finely chopped)

• 2-3 small new potatoes

• ½ tsp salt

• 60g/3oz firm tofu

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp ground paprika

• 1 tsp lime zest

• 1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice

• 1 tsp apple juice concentrate

• 1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 2 tbsp warm water – this acts as a binding agent instead of using egg. You could also use 1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water.

• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

• 3-4 tbsp chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour (you can use regular wheat flour)

Method

1. Grate courgettes (zucchini) and onion into a bowl (or add chopped spring onions (scallions)

2. Peel potatoes and grate into bowl with courgettes (zucchini) and onion

3. Sprinkle grated vegetables with salt and allow to sit for 30 minutes to draw out the juices. Squeeze out excess liquid with your hands and put mixture in a bowl

4. Grate tofu into the bowl with the grated courgettes (zucchini), potatoes and onion

5. Add ground cumin, ground coriander and ground paprika, lime zest, lime juice, apple juice concentrate and fresh coriander

6. Carefully fold in ground flax seed and water mixture and the flour

7. Shape into small flat rounds and gently pan-fry in a good quality oil that won’t burn. I used rice bran oil; olive oil would be fine.

8. Finish making the avocado dip (see above)

Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with the avocado, cashew and lime dip and a green salad 

Nutritional information

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Kadoo Pish Gaza - Iranian Courgette (Zucchini) Dip

Kadoo pish gaza – courgette (zucchini) dip - is a simple recipe from Iran which is traditionally served at breakfast time, or as a starter, with thin, flat bread. You can also eat it as a snack with crackers or vegetable sticks.

Courgettes or zucchini are a type of summer squash that resemble a cucumber in size and shape. They are low in calories and provide reasonable amounts of vitamin C, potassium and carotenes.

Carotenes are powerful antioxidants and help to protect the body from cancer and other chronic diseases.

Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, carotenes (especially lycopene), biotin and vitamin K. They're also a very good source of B vitamins and dietary fibre.

Lycopene has been shown to be extremely protective against breast, colon, lung, skin and prostate cancers. It's also been shown to lower the risk of heart disease, cataracts and macular degeneration.

Ingredients

• 450g/1lb courgettes (zucchini)

• 1 tsp salt

• Juice ½ lemon

• 1 tbsp olive oil or 2 tbsp water

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 225g/8oz tomatoes, blanched (placed in boiling water for a few minutes to soften and split the skins, making it easy to remove them), skinned, chopped.

• ½ tsp black pepper

• 1 tsp ground paprika

• Salt to taste

• Fresh parsley to garnish (finely chopped)

Method

Cut 0.6cm/¼” from head and tail of each courgette (zucchini), then grate into a bowl. Mix in 1tsp salt and lemon juice. Allow to sit for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat oil or water in a saucepan and sweat onion until soft and translucent. Add tomatoes, pepper and paprika and cook gently for 10 minutes.

Squeeze excess liquid out of courgettes (zucchini), add to pan and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the courgettes (zucchini) are tender. If there is still a lot of liquid left in the pan after 10 minutes, cook for longer to reduce it otherwise your dip will end up too watery.

Blend to a smooth puree and season to taste. Serve garnished with fresh parsley, with flat bread or crackers.

Nutritional information

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