Made with fresh zucchini and a short list of simple ingredients, these tasty zucchini patties can be served as an appetizer, side dish, or light main dish.
Place oven rack 4-5" away from heating element. Preheat boiler.Cut the whole red bell pepper down the middle and remove the seeds and stems. Remove any remaining the seeds from the half red bell pepper as well.
Brush both sides of each pepper half with olive oil. Place the three prepared pepper halves on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven and broil the pepper halves for 4-5 minutes on on each side. The pepper skin will char.
Remove broiled peppers from oven and allow to cool.
When peppers are cool, use a paring knife (or your fingers) to carefully peel away as much of the pepper skin as possible. Reserve one half pepper for the fritter mixture.
Place two roasted red pepper halves, along with the remaining Sauce Ingredients - tomato sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and hot sauce - into a small blender cup and process until smooth. Once blended, the sauce should have the consistency of thick ketchup.You can serve roasted red pepper sauce warm or cold. It will stay good in fridge for about a week.
Zucchini Cakes
Finely chop one of the roasted pepper halves. Place the grated zucchini in cheesecloth and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. (This helps to prevent soggy fritters.)
In a medium bowl, combine the chopped red pepper, squeezed zucchini, onion, Panko crumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper. Pour beaten eggs into zucchini mixture and stir to combine evenly.Cover the mixture and let it sit for 15-20 minutes.
Choose one one of the following three cooking options:
Oven Bake: Preheat oven to 400°F | 200°C. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray.Form 4-inch patties or use a measuring cup to drop ¼ cup size cakes onto the parchment.Bake cakes in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, and then turn them over and bake another 12-15 minutes.
Pan-Fry:Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough vegetable oil to thinly coat the bottom of the skillet.Form 4-inch patties or use a measuring cup to drop ¼ cup size cakes onto the skillet. Fry until gold brown. Flip and fry on the other side.Add oil to the pan as needed, and do not overcrowd the pan.Serve with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.
Air Fry: Preheat the air fryer to 380°F | 190°C. Lightly spray the air fryer basket with oil to prevent sticking.Form the zucchini mixture into 4-inch patties and add to the air fryer. The patties should not touch one another.Air-fry the fritters for 10 minutes, then flip them over and fry for 5 more minutes.
Served warm with prepared Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.
Notes
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce is a delicious sauce option for zucchini fritters, but it isn't your only choice. Here are a few more sauce suggestions:
Easy Sriracha-Garlic Yogurt Dip (Exactly what it sounds like: to each half cup of yogurt, mix in a half-teaspoon of minced garlic and a teaspoon or more of Sriracha.)