Update: I made a double batch of these (to freeze for later use), and baked them on a lightly oiled baking sheet. 400 degree oven, turning once after 12 - 15 minutes then baking an additional 12-15 minutes. The results were great. Less oil absorbed than with pan frying, and the "crab" cakes came out crispy and golden, with a lot less mess and work. I've also made this with the commercial Italian Bread Crumbs. The flavor was out of this world! Outstanding! These make a wonderful vegetarian dinner when served with sliced tomatoes (topped with a dab of mayo) and fresh corn on the cob. These were so good that I make them at least once a week during the summer. I followed the suggestions of others, by lightly salting and draining the shredded zucchini before combining with the other ingrediants. The butter gives it a rich decadent taste!
I live in Maryland, and these definitely do not taste like a real crab cake, although they did remind me somewhat of the frozen grocery store kind. A reasonable facsimile for vegetarians. Due to previous complaints of sogginess, I squeezed the zucchini after grating it, and used commercial dried (canned) bread crumbs because they are denser than fresh bread crumbs (the recipe didn't specify which type to use). Also, "seasoned" bread crumbs were noted in the body, although seasoned was not specified in the ingredients list, which caused some confusion. As a Maryland crab cake afficionado, I would not recommend you use seasoned bread crumbs as the seasonings would detract from the Old Bay. I'll make these again, but next time I will increase the dried bread crumbs to 1 1/8 cups to help counteract the sogginess and increase the Old Bay to 1 1/2 tsp. to enhance the flavor.
This is an update from my last review of this recipe. This time I took the advice from Roger who reviewed a spinach recipe and suggested using a potato ricer to squeeze out the water from the spinach. I tried his idea with the zucchini and I can't tell you how well it worked. For those who are commenting on the saltiness of the Old Bay (which I agree with), there are several copy cat recipes out there which would enable you to control the sodium. I did take the advice from other reviewers and added an extra tsp. of "Old Bay Seasoning". I also added some garlic and onion powder and some black pepper along with a little cayenne. Yes, they are a tad bit difficult to handle, but if you flour your hands and LIGHTLY roll them into a ball and then pat them into a patty, it's not too bad. I used a Fry Daddy which made the job very quick and easy without the cakes tasting too heavy or greasy. Thanks Patti and Connie too!!!!
These were very good. I worried about the zucchini being too watery, so I shredded it into a collander and added about 1/2 tsp. of salt. I let it drain for about 30 minutes (pressing slightly with wooden spoon)...yielding about 2/3 cup water. I will definitely make these again.
This one gets RAVE Reviews!!!!
I have made this recipe 5 times in the last 2 weeks. I modified it slightly in that I used 1 large zucchini and 1 large potato. I made sure I squeezed all of the liquid from these in order to insure an easier mixture to work with.
Instead of coating with flour, I used the Japanese bread crumbs and coated each side and fried them. I have made them ahead but coated them with the bread crumbs just
before frying. That way they don't get soggy.
I left the melted butter out the second time and I didn't see any difference.
This is certainly a great recipe. My daughter and I love them and I would serve them as a side dish for company!!!! You must try these.
This is the best zucchini pattie recipe I've ever tried. I used 1 more egg to substitute for butter. Also I didn't have Old Bay Seasoning at hand so I used a combination of black pepper mustard minced celery nutmeg ground cloves cayenne pepper paprika and ginger (I tried to imitate Old Bay Seasoning as much as I could) and the result was just fantastic! Thanks Connie!!
A very good side dish though not much of a vegetable dish. You will definitely want to "drain" the zucchini. I spread mine to a thin layer on parchment paper cover with paper towels sprinkle a little salt and use a rolling pin to press out the water. Repeat this process several times and you won't regret it. It does use a fair amount of paper towels though. I use Emeril's Essence instead of Old Bay Seasoning and it tasted wonderful. Add the bread crumbs gradually. It is easy to add too much even at the given amount. This results in a finished product that tastes like stuffing and is very dry. Enough bread crumbs have been added when the mixture just barely holds together when flattened into a patty. Bon Apetit.
Great recipe! I've made this a few times and found that the small to medium zucchini works best. I drained and squeezed out zucchini added more Old Bay and froze patties before cooking. Freezing makes them easier to handle and you can cook as many or as little as you want.
These are absolutely incredible! They are a bit messy to make and I drained the zucchini all day with a weight on top. But, they are so incredibily delicious that I did not mind the mess one bit. Here's a little tip: if your mix is really wet then form the patty in your hand, sprinkle flour on one side, pat it in then turn over and do the same thing on the other side. Then kind of gently toss in the pan. I had no trouble as long as I rinsed my hands after every couple of patties. My husband does not like squash and he scarfed these right down. They are incredibly tasty!
I just made these. However, I also needed to change the recipe. I used panko crumbs as well. I also added salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic power, dried mustard and I probably increased the Old Bay by at least 2-1/2 times. I also didn't use the flour, and I opted to bake at 400 w/ a little olive oil. I'm giving it a 3/5 because without the extra ingredients I think it would be on the bland side. My mother really enjoyed my version and I will be making her more to store in the freezer.
