Zucchini Cornmeal Pancakes

Happy Monday!

Happy July! When did that happen?

Happy Pancake Month!

We started July with a bang around here: a huge storm tore through this weekend, knocking out almost everyone’s power. That’s…fun when you’re having 100+ degree weather.

This weekend was HOT. We ran, we finally got some local peaches, we went to a retirement party in a barn, with a keg and some of the best barbeque I’ve ever had. And I faced my fears and sang at church on Sunday. Yay? I’m still not sure how I feel about microphones…but I did it! And I didn’t pass out – which is a pretty big deal for me, since I faint. A lot. Don’t ask.

July around here means 2 things: green beans and zucchini.

News flash, garden: I’m not really ready for green bean season yet.

We are already swimming in the beans…and this is just the first pick. I’ve got all these sitting in the kitchen and have to go pick MORE tonight. Which basically means I’ll be canning some green beans after work today.

Welcome back to back ache city.

Since our garden is vomiting vegetables right now, I’ve been trying to use up the last of our freezer stash from last year to make room for bags of beans, jars of tomatoes, and berries galore.

Lucky for me, I found one sad little bag of shredded zucchini from last summer, just begging to be thrown into some savory little pancakes.

The base of these is masa – have you had masa? It smells like…Mexico, I think. It just smells like corn tortillas, like the freshest, sweetest, most corny corn tortillas you’ve ever had. So anytime I use masa, I want to go southwestern with the flavors but I resisted with these.

I figured Italians eat polenta, which is just ground corn, so I could throw in some oregano and basil and be okay. These were more than okay.

We had these along side some grilled chicken…but I took a few the next morning and topped them with a couple of eggs. Best idea yet!

Zucchini Cornmeal Pancakes

Makes: 10-12 medium sized corn cakes or 15-20 smaller appetizer sized cakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium zucchini, shredded
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • .5 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 3/4 cup masa harina (corn flour) or finely ground cornmeal
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1-2 tsp oil

Directions:

  1. Mix your zucchini, salt, pepper, masa harina, and baking powder together in a large bowl.
  2. In a small dish, beat the eggs and mix together with the milk.
  3. Stir the egg mixture into the zucchini and let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
  4. Heat a skillet over medium and add a tsp or so of oil.
  5. Drop batter into the skillet with a large spoon, 1-2 at a time, and let cook for 3-4 minutes on one side before flipping.
  6. When the cakes look set around the edges, flip over and let the second side cook 1-2 minutes.
  7. Remove from pan and keep warm.
  8. Continue cooking until all the batter is gone.
  9. Serve with salsa, avocado, cheese, or any other topping that sounds good to you!

15 comments

  1. These sound so delicious! Love it!

  2. What a unique and delicious looking recipe!! I would love these for breakfast…or lunch…or dinner. :) Yum! I didn’t even know that July was pancake month but ironically I posted a pancake recipe today too!

  3. Omg these look delicious!! I love zucchini and that combined with cornmeal sounds like an awesome combination and delicious as a side for dinner or perfect for on-the-go lunch!

  4. These are fun! My garden is vomiting squash like crazy right now too, so I’m going to need all the zucchini recipes I can get. These look great!

  5. love these! great incorporation of cornmeal and zucchini :)

  6. I totally know what you mean when it comes to zucchini – I have loads of them already! I’ll have to make these pancakes sometime – they look amazing! Hurray for Pancake Month! :-D

  7. How was I unaware it was pancake month?!?!

    And this is right up my alley! I have shredded zucchini hanging out in my freezer…

  8. It’s national pancake month!?! I can’t believe I didn’t know that!!

    These look incredible. I was out to eat recently and saw carrot cake pancakes on the menu…definitely think I need to recreate those babies at home!

  9. I pinned these to try at some point this summer. I always need ways to use up my CSA zucchinis! :-)

  10. these look delicious! i wish i could find masa harina! I have in my mind that it’s 10x better than cornmeal, even when i stick it in my coffee grinder to make it smoother. :)

    • oh yeah. it doesn’t even compare! it just smells….like fresh summer corn in a bag. I use the Bob’s Red Mill masa, but I know my grocery store sells other brands in the “mexican/international” section

  11. Pingback: Oatmeal Toppings Jumps Into July

  12. can i make these with chickpea flour?

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