Zucchini is one of the first summer vegetables.
It is appreciated for its high content of various trace elements.
These are potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron. Plus vitamins.
In addition, zucchini due to its low calorie content is excellent for diet food.
This vegetable practically does not have its own distinct taste, therefore, it is considered by many to be not a particularly interesting product.
In fact, this is its advantage: zucchini goes well with absolutely any product in various dishes. This applies to cutlets from zucchini. There are many recipes that allow you to cook a variety of delicious and healthy dishes based on this vegetable.
Basic principles of cooking zucchini cutlets
There are a number of basic rules by which zucchini patties can be cooked successfully. They are based on the features of this vegetable and the possibilities of combining it with other products.
1. Zucchini for cutlets is crushed raw using a large or small grater, meat grinder, blender.
2. The prepared mass must be added and left in a colander so that the glass has excess liquid - zucchini is a very juicy vegetable.
3. You can chop the zucchini with a knife into small cubes - you get chopped cutlets with a well-defined structure.
4. Zucchini patties can be prepared on the basis of only this one product or in combination with other additives. They can serve:
• a variety of vegetables - potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage and others
• minced meat or minced cubes
• minced fish
• cottage cheese
• cereals - rice, hercules, buckwheat.
5. Eggs and flour or semolina are added to the patties from the zucchini to hold them together and shape.
6. As flavoring seasonings they add black ground pepper, mashed coriander, fresh or dried dill, parsley, basil and other herbs to taste.
7. Zucchini patties are fried in oil, baked in the oven, steamed or in the microwave, as well as in a slow cooker.
8. Zucchini cutlets can be served for breakfast, as well as for lunch or dinner, as a side dish, as well as a stand-alone dish or appetizer. They are usually good and cold.
9. Such dishes can be prepared for the future: the cooked meatballs are well stored in the freezer and do not lose their taste and quality when heated.
Zucchini cutlets: the easiest recipe
Those who want to try cutlets from zucchini, it is better to start with the simplest recipe. Here you can understand the taste and texture of the main product and determine whether to experiment further. Usually the solution is one - it's worth it! In fact, zucchini cutlets are not only tasty, but also very simple, affordable, economical.
Ingredients
1 medium young squash - about 300 g in weight
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
Salt
Black pepper
Dill greens
Vegetable oil.
Cooking method
Grind zucchini in any way. If you get a middle-aged instance, first peel off the skin and remove the seeds.
Salt and drain the juice.
Add eggs, flour, salt, pepper and finely chopped dill. Stir until smooth. It should be quite thick.
Spread it with a spoon in a pan with hot oil and fry like pancakes until browning.
Serve best with sour cream, in which greens and garlic are added.
Squash patties in the oven
Zucchini patties can not only be fried in oil, but also baked in the oven. It will be a more dietary recipe. And it will take less time and energy, because you do not need to stand at the stove while the patties are fried. You can make them from zucchini with eggs and flour, or you can add other ingredients. Cutlets will be more intense and delicious.
Ingredients
Medium squash weighing 300-500 g
200 g cabbage
1 onion
1 bell pepper, preferably red
2 eggs
200 g white bread without crust
100 g of cheese - as much as you wish
Salt
Black pepper
Any greens.
Cooking method
Skip cabbage and zucchini through a meat grinder. Let juice drain, squeeze well.
Finely chop the onion and pepper.
Soak bread for 10 minutes in water or milk, squeeze, knead.
Grate the cheese.
Mix all the ingredients. It should turn out to be a fairly dense mass, not liquid. If there is a lot of moisture, you can correct the situation with the help of decoy.
Form oblong cutlets with wet hands. Put on a greased baking sheet and place in the oven.
Cook over medium heat for 20-30 minutes.
You can put the mass into molds or one layer on a baking sheet and bake. If on a baking sheet, cut into squares after cooling.
Such cutlets are good and cold.
Zucchini plus oatmeal: double use of cutlets
Who does not know about the benefits of oatmeal! It remarkably helps digestion, saturates thanks to fiber, but does not add excess weight due to low calorie content. In combination with zucchini, oatmeal only wins, cutlets from these two products turn out to be juicy, tender, hearty in measure and very very useful.
Ingredients
500 g of zucchini, if not young, then without skin and seeds
Half a glass of Hercules groats
2 eggs
Dill or parsley
Salt.
Cooking method
Grate zucchini on a medium grater. Do not strain the juice.
It is advisable to grind Hercules in a meat grinder or blender, otherwise the flakes will be felt. However, many people like just such an unshredded version.
Mix with oatmeal, salt, let stand for 20 minutes to swell the cereals.
To evaluate the consistency, the mass should not be liquid. If necessary, add more oatmeal.
Put finely chopped greens and eggs. Stir very well.
Cutlets can be formed by dipping in the same oatmeal or flour, and frying in a pan with hot oil. You can spread the mass with a spoon in a pan like pancakes.
Tasty hearty cutlets are best served with sour cream.
Zucchini chicken cutlets
A useful double dish is zucchini patties with chicken. This recipe is also distinguished by the original mincemeat. The components are not completely chopped, which adds extra juiciness and a nice crunch to cutlets.
Ingredients
300 g of fresh fresh zucchini
300 g chicken - preferably breast
Large onion
2 eggs
Garlic clove
Salt
1-2 tablespoons of flour
A handful of chopped greens - onion feathers, dill, parsley, cilantro to taste
Vegetable oil.
Cooking method
It is better to take chicken fillet slightly frozen. Cut it into layers, then cubes, and then turn them into small cubes.
Cut zucchini the same size.
Onion also cut into small cubes.
Mix meat and vegetables. Add crushed garlic, eggs, herbs. To salt. Let stand a little.
Juice should stand out. Add flour to make the liquid disappear. It is not advisable to add a lot of flour. If the juice is in excess, it is better to drain it.
Spread a portion of minced meat in a pan with hot oil with a spoon. Fry until golden brown on both sides.
Beautiful and tasty meatballs from minced chicken and zucchini can be served with fresh vegetables, another side dish, without anything at all, or made into a delicious sandwich by laying on bread.
Zucchini and turkey: a wonderful combination of cutlets
Turkey meat is considered particularly beneficial. It is similar to chicken in consistency and composition, also does not contain excess fat and is very rich in protein. However, the turkey does not cause allergies, which makes it suitable for feeding sick people and babies. In combination with zucchini, wonderful cutlets are obtained.
Ingredients
300 g turkey fillet
300 g squash
1 egg
2 tablespoons semolina
1 onion
1 carrot
Salt
Ground black pepper
Vegetable oil.
Cooking method
Pass the meat through a meat grinder with zucchini. You can grate the zucchini separately, and grind the meat in a blender - most importantly, grind both components.
Finely chop the onion, grate the carrots, finely too.
Put the onion on a spoon of vegetable oil, when it starts to brown - put the carrots, hold for another five minutes, stirring.
Cool the fried vegetables and mix with the meat-squash mass. Salt, pepper. If there is too much liquid, pour a spoonful of semolina and let stand.
Ten minutes later, form oval cutlets. Roll in semolina on all sides.
Fry in a pan or bake on a baking sheet in the oven.
If the frying option is chosen, then at the end of cooking, put the fried cutlets in a pan and cover with a lid. Keep it on low heat for five minutes so that it is definitely not raw inside.
Serve like regular meatballs.
Unusual and very juicy: zucchini patties with minced fish
Fish and zucchini? How can this be combined? It turns out you can. And the thing is that products from minced fish are often dry, especially if these are low-fat varieties of fish. Then add minced lard to the minced meat. However, if this is not desired, fishcakes can be made juicy in another way. Namely - add juicy vegetables. This includes zucchini. Thanks to its neutral taste and smell, it can be successfully combined with fish.
Ingredients
500 g of fish fillet - pollock, pink salmon, pike, cod, saffron cod, hake
300 g zucchini, if not young, peeled from seeds and peel
1-2 bulbs
2 eggs
2 tablespoons semolina
Salt
Allspice, ground or just black
Breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil.
Cooking method
Cut the fish fillet into pieces, also do with zucchini and onions.
Grind everything in a meat grinder or in a blender.
Add semolina to the minced meat, salt, sprinkle with pepper, beat eggs. Mix well and let stand for 15 minutes. Excess moisture must be absorbed due to decoy, which will swell.
Make round patties or oblong type of fish sticks. Well breaded in breadcrumbs.
Fry in hot oil on both sides. Turning to the second side, cover the pan with a lid and hold for five minutes so that the cutlets are steamed inside. Then remove the lid and fry until crisp.
Serve warm, but fish cakes are good and cold.
Zucchini-meat dish - "patties on plates"
The same variations of zucchini and meat, but in a very original design. Eaten up even by those who say that they don’t like zucchini at all.
Ingredients
500 g of prepared minced meat - any
2 young long zucchini, can zucchini
Half a glass of rice
2 cloves of garlic
Ground black pepper to taste
100-150 g of hard cheese.
Cooking method
Boil rice in plenty of water, drain, rinse, cool.
Add rice and pepper to the prepared meat.
Grate cheese, mix with chopped garlic.
Zucchini cut into slices 1-1.5 cm thick.
On the greased baking sheet, place the squash at a short distance from each other, but not closely.
On top of each zucchini put a ball of minced meat. Press down a little.
For each future patty put a small hill of cheese-garlic mixture.
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
Secrets and subtleties of cooking squash cutlets
Zucchini patties can be cooked completely flat, like pancakes, then they are well roasted.
If you make thicker meatballs, especially with the use of meat ingredients, you need to hold them under the lid on the stove after frying or put in the oven until ready.
It is not advisable to add too much flour or semolina to zucchini patties so that the consistency of dough products does not work.
Eggs fasten squash stuffing. However, if you are preparing cutlets from zucchini and minced meat, you can do without eggs. You just need to mix the mass well and, when forming, beat the pieces off the palm of your hand. Then the meatballs will be strong and not fall apart.
The best sauce for squash cutlets is sour cream with additives - herbs, garlic, pepper. If desired, you can use mayonnaise and other sauces.
Enjoy your meal!
