Summer Squash and Chive Fritters

Zucchini gets all the garden love this time of year, but growing up I always preferred yellow squash. My grandparents grew it in their garden, and we had it as a side dish all summer long. Most of the time it was boiled and then mashed with a little butter and sugar. So simple, but so good! It’s still my favorite way to eat yellow squash, though it’s a far less frequent occurrence these days.

A few weeks ago my mom dropped off a bunch of yellow squash to me, and though my first instinct was to stick with what I knew, I decided to branch out and try to find something different to do with at least some of the squash. My mind kept going back to these zucchini-corn fritters I made last summer; I totally fell in love with them, and was itching to do something similar with my yellow squash!

I wound up deciding on these summer squash and chive fritters, which are a healthier take on the idea of a fritter. As you can probably tell from the pictures, they’re not fried like traditional fritters would be. Instead, they’re cooked almost like you would cook pancakes and the resulting texture is definitely more similar to a pancake than a fritter. But calling these fritters instead of pancakes just makes them sound more appetizing as far as I’m concerned 🙂

Whatever you call them, they’re fantastic! The squash is cooked, then pureed and combined with garlic, parmesan cheese, and chives for lots of extra flavor. The fritters come together in no time at all, especially if you plan ahead and make the squash puree in advance. You could serve these as a side dish to any number of summer dinners, or alternately, they’re a great lunch, maybe with a salad on the side. Just like pancakes, these fritters even freeze well, so you can whip up a ton now and stick them in your freezer to pull out on a busy day. That’s a win-win in my book!

Summer Squash and Chive Fritters
slightly adapted from Skinny Taste

1 1/4 lb yellow squash
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch ground black pepper

Chop the squash into about 1 1/2-inch pieces and add to a large saucepan. Cover with water and set over medium-high heat. Bring the water to a boil, and cook the squash until it is fork tender – the fork should slide in and out without any resistance at all. Drain the squash, then add to the bowl of your food processor and process until pureed. Remove 2 cups of the puree and add to a medium bowl (if you have any leftover, you can eat it is as or add a little butter, oil, etc – it makes a great side!).

To the bowl with the 2 cups of squash puree, add the egg, egg white, flour, baking powder, garlic, parmesan cheese, chives, salt, and pepper. Mix together to form the batter for your fritters. It should be similar to thick pancake batter in consistency.

Set a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. When the pan is hot, use a 1/4-cup measure to drop the batter into the pan – use the back of the cup to spread the batter into a thin round. Cook for a few minutes on the first side, or until the bottom is golden brown and bubbles form on the top. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter, spraying the pan again with cooking spray as necessary.

Makes about 12