Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Carrot Pancakes

It’s time for the Secret Recipe Club again! If you haven’t heard about it, check it out and join us! It is a great way to meet more food bloggers and try new recipes. This month I was assigned to Sanjeeta’s blog, Lite Bite. Sanjeeta has a great variety of delicious, healthy recipes on her blog! Make sure to check it out! The recipe I chose was a zucchini pancake, perfect for the zucchini I had just bought from the farmer’s market.

I have to admit though, I made a lot of changes to this recipe. Not because the recipe was bad. It is a great recipe. Changes were made for other reasons.

Procrastination.

Empty fridge.

I’m a sissy when it comes to spicy.

Sanjeeta’s zucchini cakes, let me introduce you to your veggie-packed, not-so-spicy, no-so-gluten-free, adopted sister.

I added red peppers and carrots. Partly because I wanted to, partly because half of my zucchini wasn’t looking so delicious anymore (enter the procrastination).

I added eggs to bind these together, with a bit of heavy cream, and some feta cheese. I figured those three things, added together, equal her yogurt. No? Well, close enough.

I subbed fresh parsley in for the coriander leaves. I almost always have fresh parsley in my fridge. Coriander, not so much.

I used all-purpose flour in place of the chickpea flour, and decreased the amount slightly.

Zucchini, Red Pepper and Carrot Pancakes
adapted very, very generously from Lite Bite

3/4 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 finely diced red bell pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 shredded or crumbled feta cheese (I used reduced-fat)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I did a scant 1/4 tsp)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (again, I went scant on this)
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp heavy cream
oil for frying
salt/pepper to taste (I left out salt because of the feta but then ended up adding a little when I ate it)

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat with a little bit of oil (I got a little heavy-handed, but you really don’t need much, especially if you’re using a non-stick or cast-iron pan).
3. Form batter into small pancakes and place in pan. Cook for about four minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked completely.
4. Serve and enjoy! We had ours with some chicken sausage.

Verdict: These were good. Packed full of veggies, with good flavor and texture.
Husband’s take: He liked them too, although, he said he would rather have them for breakfast (instead of dinner).
Changes I would make: None. Swapping out the feta for sharp cheddar would be good. I could barely taste the feta with all the vegetable flavors.
Difficulty:Easy!

Make sure to check out more posts from this month’s Secret Recipe Club!

Tagged as: feta, pancake, red pepper, secret recipe club, SRC, zucchini