Quick lunch: Zucchini Fritters

Hello lovely readers! 

The Cookbook Challenge has been a lot of fun so far and has had the intended effect of reinvigorating my interest in cooking and blogging. As a result, I'll be trying to include a few non-Cookbook Challenge recipes here on the blog as I come across tasty treats. Today's post is one of these delicious discoveries... zucchini fritters! 

As I'm currently working from home, I've been trying to take advantage of this fact to make more interesting lunches than I'd be able to if I was in an office environment. These little fritters were so easy to put together and surprisingly satisfying. I only had one sad little zucchini knocking around in the bottom of the fridge so I think in the future I might use two in order to up the actual veggie factor. However, this recipe was really forgiving so even if you don't have an excess of zucchini to use up, you'll still be in for a nice lunch. 

I had mine with some leftover Indian spiced veggies so I added a bit of mango chutney to continue the inadvertent Indian theme. However, I think these would be amazing topped with a poached egg. You could even add hollandaise if you're feeling fancy! Seriously, these little fritters are so versatile that they could be paired with just about anything... leftover chili, cottage cheese and tomatoes, or even topped with ham and cheese as an open-faced mini sandwich. This recipe also seems to be pretty forgiving so you could even try swapping out the parmesan for cheddar or mozzarella and even adding in green onion or other tasty additions. The possibilities are endless and so I hope you enjoy them as much as I have! 

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 5 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1-2 zucchini, grated

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup grated Parmesan 

1 egg

2 cloves garlic, minced 

Salt and Pepper to taste

Olive oil 

Method:

Place the grated zucchini in a colander over a bowl. Mix in the salt and leave to drain for ten minutes. 

When the zucchini is ready, move to a large bowl and mix in the flour, Parmesan, garlic and egg. Stir thoroughly to create a batter. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large pan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over a medium heat. Drop spoonfuls of batter carefully into the oil. Allow to brown on one side before flipping to brown the other. When ready, remove from the pan to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil. Continue this process until you have used up all of the batter. Enjoy! 

Lunchables: Tuesday

For Tuesday's lunch, I really struggled to find the energy to make something. I've been ill with a sore throat and general flu-like symptoms since Sunday so combined with teaching I'm exhausted! However, I really wanted to keep up the lunch blogging so I poked around in my cupboards for something relatively easy to throw together. The result? Moroccan inspired couscous!

Sizzling Halloumi

Browning Halloumi

I'll admit, I may have been slightly heavy handed with the Cayenne pepper so my lunch is definitely packing a punch! However, I'm hoping using the little pot for some yogurt to have along side will help to temper the heat. I also sauteed some Halloumi quickly and added that in to help bulk it up a bit. If you had leftover roast lamb or chicken this would be really tasty to have along side! I split the sauteed vegetables into two servings because I haven't been very hungry while I've been ill but I'm listing it as a single serving recipe since I think it's a pretty normal portion size.

Veggies getting started in the pan 

Spices going in

Finally, I'm listing the spice amounts as dashes because it will depend on your preference. Feel free to throw in any other spices you like! If you don't have Halloumi in your local shop, feta might be a nice substitute. If using Halloumi, make sure to keep it a light golden color because over cooking will make it rubbery.

Ready to be added to the couscous

Boxed and ready for lunch!

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

Olive oil

3 slices of Halloumi cheese, 1 centimeter thick

1/2 a small onion, roughly chopped

1/2 cup zucchini, chopped

1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped

2 chestnut mushrooms, chopped

1 handful of raisins

Dash of ground coriander

Dash of cayenne pepper

Dash of ground cinnamon

Dash of allspice

Dash of cumin

1/4 vegetable bouillon cube

Splash of water

30g couscous

Yogurt to serve along side

Method:

Add a splash of olive oil to a medium sized pan and place over medium heat. Carefully lay the Halloumi cheese slices into the oil and leave until golden brown on both sides. Meanwhile, prepare your vegetables. When the Halloumi is ready, remove from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, add the vegetables and saute until softened. When almost ready, add the spices and the raisins and saute for 2 minutes. Next add a splash of water and crumble the bouillon cube into the mix and leave until the water has been absorbed by the vegetables.

For the couscous, boil a kettle of water. Place 30 grams of couscous in a bowl and pour the water over until it's just above the level of the couscous. Cover with a plate and set aside for 10 minutes. When ready, mix with the vegetables, top with the Halloumi and pop into your lunch container. Enjoy! 

Lunchables: Monday

This week I'm trying out something new for the blog. Since I'm working every day as a teaching assistant, I'm hoping to take my lunch in with me. Should be a good opportunity to use my fancy new box! I'll be posting each day's offerings here so stay tuned!

My new lunchbox!

Very handy having the cutlery included

Monday's lunch was a quick and easy stir fry. When I made dinner yesterday, I kept a small portion aside for a no-brainier lunch. Simple!

Love the little pot for sauces/dressings

Ready to go!

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

1/2 cup aubergine, sliced into bite size pieces

1/2 cup zucchini, sliced

1/2 a small red onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp garlic

100g ready to cook rice noodles

Coconut oil

Olive oil

Soy sauce

Method:

Add a half a teaspoon of coconut oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Place the slices of aubergine into the pan and sauté until browned and soft. Add a bit of olive oil if needed. Next add the zucchini and onion and cook until soft. Stir in the garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute or two until the garlic is fragrant. Next toss in the rice noodles and mix with the other ingredients. Add a dash of soy sauce and toss to coat. Enjoy!

Brown Butter Gnocchi with Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes

Hello! As most of you might know, I've been away for the last two weeks visiting my parents in Rome. I had a really lovely time and especially enjoyed the fact that the boyfriend (Sam), the lovely flatmate (Laure) and the lovely friend (Anna) were all able to visit as well! Of course, the real highlight is always getting to spend time with the most loving and sweet little mini dachshund. Little Izzy is just the greatest and I'm definitely missing her now that I'm home!

Ingredients

Zucchini ribbons, chopped onion and garlic 

Boiling gnocchi, ready to come out! 

Anyway, on to the food! I have a confession to make... while on holiday, I get very very lazy when it comes to food. Meals are more likely to be made up of bread, cold cuts, cheese and salad than to be something needs actual effort to create. This is particularly true in Italy because, let's be honest, their "cold cuts" are really a cut above the rest (ha). That said, I did take the time to test out this recipe that I found after searching online for "healthy gnocchi dinner" or something like that. This isn't actually that healthy I'm afraid since butter is one of the main ingredients but it's definitely tasty and surprisingly light - perfect for spring or summer! The courgettes are perfect in this and the cherry tomatoes really help to bring that brightness into the dish. I used mini gnocchi because they were too cute to pass up and so I went with 100g per person. That said, when I made this for Anna, Laure, my parents and their friends (7 of us total)... 1000g of gnocchi meant we had TONS of leftovers which made a perfect lunch the next few days.

Zucchini, garlic and onion in the brown butter 

All the ingredients in the pan

Finished product! Delicious!

Recipe via www.eatingwell.com

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 1

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp butter

1/2 a small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 large zucchini, stripped

5 cherry tomatoes, halved 

100g gnocchi

30g parmesan cheese, grated 

Method: 

Chop the garlic and onion and set aside while you use a vegetable peeler to cut the zucchini into ribbons. When ready, melt the butter in a pan and let it simmer until it starts to brown over a medium-high heat. Toss in the onion and garlic and let simmer until fragrant before adding the zucchini to soften. Meanwhile, boil water in a pot and add the gnocchi when it has reached a rolling boil. The gnocchi are ready when they float to the top of the pot. While waiting for the gnocchi, add the cherry tomatoes to the pan, cut side down and saute until they start to break down. Finally, add the gnocchi to the other ingredients along with the parmesan cheese and enjoy!