Try my fried zucchini balls recipe served with yoghurt dip if you want a delicious appetizer before the main course or if you are ovo-vegetarian it is an idea for dinner. These vegetable balls can be made in different ways and with different ingredients, I tried to use these zucchini in other recipes than ratatouille or made breaded zucchini.
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As you know zucchini, or courgette, is a kind of summer squash and unlike cucumber, with which it resembles, it is served cooked, which means it can be steamed, boiled, grilled, stuffed or baked. In this recipe, after I grate them on the large grater and in combination with some ingredients, I will fry them in oil in the form of balls, you will see that they will be delicious.
These Are the Ingredients
Let me first show you the ingredients used in this recipe. I mention that from these quantities I obtained 14 zucchini balls, so about three servings, if you have more guests, multiply the quantities.
I used three pieces of young zucchini in total about 550 g, half (only the white part) of leeks and half of sweet red peppers. For a more cheesy consistency, I will add 100 g of grated cheddar cheese and for extra colour and taste 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley.
To bind everything and be able to form balls, I will add two eggs and 70 g of breadcrumbs that will absorb the moisture of the vegetables.
How to Make the Zucchini Balls Recipe?
We have to start with vegetables because they require a longer preparation time.
Preparing the Zucchini
To be about the same size I will grate the vegetables on the large grater because I want to remove them from the amount of water they contain. I start with zucchini first, which I just washed well and didn’t peel because they are very young and fresh.
Continue with the leeks and peppers, which you also grate over the zucchini. I add two teaspoons of sea salt, mix them, and sit for a few minutes while the salt takes the water out of the vegetables.
After that, all we have to do is squeeze the water from them well with our hands, keeping them as dry as possible and they will be easier to shape.
Put the squeezed vegetables in a bowl and add over the rest of the ingredients, ie eggs, grated cheddar cheese and breadcrumbs.
Seasoning
We are going to season everything according to everyone’s tastes and ideas, but in my zucchini balls recipe, I added half a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, half a teaspoon of soup spice mix, and a quarter teaspoon of garlic powder and a quarter teaspoon of chilli flakes.
I mixed everything well by hand until I got a homogeneous paste and was ready to shape. It is advisable to let this mixture sit for about five minutes in the cold so that the breadcrumbs have time to absorb moisture and become thicker.
If you feel that this paste is still quite soft and difficult to form, you can add more breadcrumbs, this can happen if the vegetables have not been squeezed well.
I formed balls the size of golf balls by hand, which I then flattened a little to fry on a larger surface. Try to make them the same size to fry in the same way, you can use a spoon or an ice cream scoop from these.
Frying the Balls
To make the fried zucchini balls I took a non-stick pan in which I heated half a cup of sunflower oil at medium temperature. When the oil got hot I fried the zucchini balls, not too many at once so as not to cool the oil too much.
I fried them for two or three minutes until they got a copper colour and then I turned them on the other side for another 2-3 minutes.
After they were fried, I took them out in a bowl lined with a paper towel and let them cool a little and drain the excess oil and I continued to fry the rest of the zucchini balls.
This was my fried zucchini balls recipe, I assure you that they came out tasty and I invite you to enjoy them together.
Serving the Zucchini Balls
My recommendation is that these fried zucchini balls be served warm, as an appetizer, along with a yoghurt dip and whose recipe I’m telling you now. I made it from 100 ml of Greek yoghurt in which I added two teaspoons of sweet chilli sauce, a quarter teaspoon of sea salt, a quarter teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, and a teaspoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.
So delicious!!!
If you like my zucchini balls recipe, in our food blog you will find a lot of great appetizer recipe ideas and I recommend you try them, like:
- Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant Recipe
- Stuffed Mushrooms With Cheese and Bacon
- Best Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Recipe
Or you can find other delicious vegetable recipes such as:
- Green Beans in Tomato Sauce
- Grated Summer Squash Stew Recipe
- Best Sauteed Savoy Cabbage Recipe
- Best Breaded Eggplant Recipe
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Zucchini Balls Recipe
Equipment
- 1 grater
- 1 bowl
Ingredients
- 550 g zucchini grated, squeezed
- 2 pieces eggs free range
- ½ piece leek grated
- ½ piece sweet red pepper grated, squeezed
- 100 g cheddar cheese grated
- 70 g breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
- 2 tsp sea salt kosher
- ½ tsp ground pepper freshly ground
- ½ tsp vegetable mix for soups
- ½ tsp garlic powder dry
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes dried
- ½ cup sunflower oil or other vegetable oil
From Dip
- 100 ml Greek yoghurt full fat
- 1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
- ¼ tsp sea salt kosher
- ¼ tsp ground pepper freshly ground
- 1 tsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini, leek and red pepper on the large grater, season with sea salt and let it sit for a few minutes. Squeeze the water from the vegetable with your hands, keeping them as dry as possible.
- Add over the rest of the ingredients, ie eggs, grated cheddar cheese and breadcrumbs.
- Season with ground pepper, vegetable mix from soups, garlic powder and chilli flakes.
- Mix everything well by hand until you got a homogeneous paste and let this mixture sit for about five minutes in the cold.
- Form balls the size of golf balls by hand, which then flattened a little to fry on a larger surface.
- Fry the zucchini balls in sunflower oil for two or three minutes until they got a copper colour and then I turned them on the other side for another 2-3 minutes.
- Take them out in a bowl lined with a paper towel and let them cool a little and drain the excess oil.
- In a mini bowl mix Greek yoghurt with sweet chilli sauce, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.
- My recommendation is to serve these fried zucchini balls warm, as an appetizer, along with a yoghurt or another dip.
