Easy Courgette Fritters with Cheese

This recipe makes 6 cheesy courgette fritters, a great addition to any lazy weekend brunch, served with poached egg on top. Or serve with a side salad of crunchy vegetables for light lunch or dinner option.

Courgette, or zucchini as it's also known, is a great summer fruiting vegetable, one that is versatile when it comes to cooking. Courgette has a fresh flavour, so pairs really well with other flavours.

I grow my own courgettes in tubs in the garden, they're really easy to grow. There are always times when I have an abundance and need to find ways to use them up and I think this is one of the tastiest recipes for courgette.

Recipe ingredients

• Courgette: I've used a large green courgette (zucchini), but any colour courgette can be used in this recipe.
• Potato: use any variety of potato, I used roosters as they are a good all round potato.
• Sea salt: I used salt to draw out the excess moisture from the courgette and the potato. Most is drained off, but some will remain to season the vegetables.
• Garlic: for the best flavour I recommend using fresh garlic cloves, although frozen garlic can work here too.
• Onion: spring onions (green onions) are ideal in this recipe as they have a great mild onion flavour and also cook really quickly.
• Flour: I've used garam flour, which is chickpea flour, to bind the fritters. Garam flour is gluten free and higher in protein than regular all purpose flour. Although feel free to use all purpose flour if you prefer.
• Cheese: I flavour the fritters with some grated Parmesan cheese. I like using Parmesan as it has a strong flavour so you don't need to use quite so much. Parmesan is also a salty cheese which helps season the fritters.
• Egg: I use beaten egg to help bind the fritters together.
• Black pepper: I add black pepper to season the fritters, you could also use cayenne pepper.
• Oil: I like to cook the fritters in a light flavoured oil, like sunflower or avocado oil.

How to make courgette fritters

• Coarsely grate the courgette and potato and place into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle in the salt, mix through, and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the salt to draw out the excess water from the vegetables.
• In the meantime add the remaining ingredients, excluding the sunflower oil, to another bowl.
• Drain the grated courgette and potato into a muslin cloth or clean tea towel and twist to drain off all the liquid, This will remove most of the salt and water.

• Add the drained vegetables to the other ingredients and mix well to form a batter. Season with black pepper to taste.
• Form the mixture into 6 even-sized balls, then shape into a small round fritters. Place the fritters onto a plate lined with baking paper. At this stage you can cover the fritters with clingfilm and place in the fridge until you are ready to cook.

• When ready to enjoy. place a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, and add the sunflower oil.
• Don't be tempted to have the pan on too high a heat or the outside of the fritters will cook and burn, before the inside is fully cooked.
• Place the fritters in the hot oil and sauté for 4-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through.
• Cook the fritters in batches and do not overcrowd the pan. Once cooked, place the fritters onto paper towel lined plates. Once all the fritters have been cooked, serve immediately.

Recipe variations

• Vegetables - Feel free to swap or add in other vegetables to the batter mixture. Sweetcorn, mushrooms or bell peppers would be great additions. Just keep the overall weight of vegetables roughly the same, load them too much and the fritter will fall apart.
• Potato - Substitute the grated potato with grated sweet potato instead.
• Cheese - I've used Parmesan cheese, but you can swap in other cheese if you prefer. I'd go for something like a crumbly feta or goat cheese, or a mature sharp cheddar.
• Fresh herbs - Add a handful of your favourite chopped herbs, try coriander (cilantro), basil, dill or parsley.
• Spices - I've kept the seasoning simple with some sea salt and black pepper, but you can add in other dried spices like smoked paprika, ground cumin, chilli powder or chilli flakes.

TOP TIP: Avoid using any fruits or vegetables that contain too much water, like a tomato, as the high water content will affect the consistency of the batter.

Serving suggestions

This batter will make around 6-8 fritters, depending on how large you shape them. I allow 3 fritters per person and serve with a side salad for a light lunch. You can also top with a poached egg for a more substantial meal.

You can also serve courgette fritters as a starter or appetiser with your favourite dipping sauce. Serve 1 large fritter, or reduce the size of the fritters you are cooking and get more out of the batch of batter.

Useful hints and tips

1. Double the recipe: these fritters are great for meal prep. Make a double batch of the fritters then cool and store in the refrigerator for a quick and easy meal another day.
2. Vegetarian: for vegetarian diners ensure you swap regular Parmesan cheese for a vegetarian alternative.
3. Dairy free: for dairy free diners swap the Parmesan cheese with a dairy free alternative or leave the cheese out altogether.
4. Allergy advice: gluten free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you have an abundance of courgettes growing in your garden, try these great tasting recipes:

• Courgette & Lemon Pasta
• Courgette & Sweet Pepper Soup 
• Quick Courgette & Shallot Pickle (aka bread and butter pickles)
• Broccoli Courgette Soup
• Chorizo Gnocchi with Courgette & Tomato
• Carrot & Courgette Breakfast Muffins