While visiting Sister and her husband a couple weeks ago, I got to help out with their CSA.  They had a ton of carrots and zucchini, so I did a little research and came up with these zucchini carrot fritters.  The original recipe called for fresh dill, wish I’m sure would be amazing, but since they had some fresh basil from the CSA, I stuck with that.

Community Supported Agriculture is a great way to support local farmers and an excellent way to get your vegetables in.  It does take quite a bit of creativity and you’ll want to make sure you choose your CSA wisely so that picking up your produce is convenient.  But if you’re looking for a food challenge, a CSA subscription is a great way to get lots of vegetables in your diet.  Over the two days I was in New York, we had zucchini, carrots, carrot greens, kohlrabi, romaine, onion, tomatoes (ok, those weren’t from the CSA, but we still had them), and cucumbers.  I haven’t found a convenient CSA pick-up in my neighborhood, but I think they’re a fantastic way to eat seasonally, locally, and get your vegetable servings.

Zucchini Carrot Fritters with Basil

Serves 6

Adapted from Brunette in Red

• 3 zucchini, shredded
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup basil, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• oil, with a high smoke point, like vegetable or grapeseed oil

The shredded vegetables should be about 5 cups total.  If your zucchini is especially moist, you’ll want to squeeze out the excess liquid.

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients.  The batter should be rather firm so when you scoop them into the pan they’ll retain their shape, add more flour if your batter is runny.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil to thinly coat the bottom of the pan.  Use a 1/3 measuring cup to scoop batter onto the pan, and flatten them.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown.  Keep fritters in the oven at 250°F to keep warm while you cook the fritters in batches.