Description
These Vegan Zucchini Fritters drizzled with dairy-free Lemon Cashew Cream sauce are a delicious way to enjoy your summer bumper crop of zucchini and basil for a satisfying vegan side.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Lemon Cashew Cream:
- 1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour and up to 4 (the longer the better)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 lemons, zested
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp white miso paste
- You may need ¼ cup cashew soaking water or more, to blend
For the Zucchini Fritters:
- 4 cups grated zucchini
- 3 tbsp scallions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp basil, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup plain gluten free regular or panko style bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp salt plus 1/2 tsp more to season mixture
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tbsp of olive oil for cooking
Instructions
For the Lemon Cashew Cream:
- Drain the cashews, reserving soaking water in case you need it to blend the sauce.
- Combine the cashes, garlic, all the lemon zest, juice from one lemon, salt, and miso in a blender. Blend until smooth, adding cashew soaking water one tablespoon at a time if necessary to achieve a creamy sauce.
To make the fritters:
- Grate zucchini. Place in a mesh colander inside a bowl and toss well with 1 1/2 tsp of salt. Let sit for about 35 minutes. Be sure to toss and squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini 3-4 times while it is sitting. (The zucchini will release a lot of moisture!) After 35 minutes, transfer zucchini to a clean dish towel and squeeze out as much remaining moisture as possible.
- While the zucchini is sitting, mix together the flour, bread crumbs, nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp of salt, garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp of pepper.
- Add flax meal to a bowl with water, stir and let sit for 20 minutes. Stir once or twice.
- Add zucchini to a bowl with scallions and basil. Mix well, then add in all of the dry ingredients. Add flax + water mixture and mix well. Let mixture sit at room temp for 20-30 minutes so the flax egg has some time to bind the mixture together. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if desired.
- Heat a large nonstick fry pan over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of oil. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup so patties are the same size. Form into a ball in your hand and press flat, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Cook for 4- 5 minutes on each side over medium heat, until golden brown and crispy.
Notes
Make sure to remove as much moisture as possible from the zucchini – this is what makes them crispy.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pan Fried
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Fritter with cream
- Calories: 195
- Sugar: 3.6 g
- Sodium: 448.8 mg
- Fat: 12.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.3 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg