Cheesy Zucchini Pancakes

I don't like to make food that is predominantly from Zucchini, only because part of me thinks zucchini is blah. Then, I force myself to make a recipe like these pancakes and I know that zucchini does not have to be blah.

The truth is that zucchini is not a tasty vegetable. Rather it is, to my way of thinking, a filler that can be seasoned to be what you want it to be. I added a spicy cheese to this recipe and it made all the difference. I chose a spicy yogurt cheese which tends to add flavor in quantity while using very little. 

 I had a package of sliced cheese, usually meant for sandwiches. I took one slice, one skinny, nothing -to-it slice and my pancakes shone bright with flavor. 

Zucchini Pancakes (altered recipe)(This is half a recipe.)
Barefoot Contessa at Home
Ingredients

1 medium zucchini  (I peeled it)

2 tablespoons grated red onion

1 egg, lightly beaten

6 tablespoons gluten-free flour mixture

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon  salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 slice spicy yogurt cheese (or cheese of choice)

 butter and vegetable oil

Procedure

Using food processor or as in my case, using mini food processor, grate the zucchini and red onion. It needed to be emptied once to get all the zucchini and red onion processed.  Of course, using a full size food processor will eliminate that extra step.

Place grated zucchini and onion into a large bowl. Immediately stir in the eggs. 

Stir in 6 tablespoons of the flour, the baking powder, salt, and pepper.

Heat a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan over medium heat and melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil together in the pan. 

When the butter is hot but not smoking, lower the heat to medium-low and drop heaping measuring tablespoons of batter into the pan. 

Just a note - I used a round tablespoon (measuring spoon) and the pancakes came out in nice circles. I wanted small pancakes and by heaping the batter onto the spoon, I got just the right size. (Add more flour if it is too liquidy to accomplish this.)

Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes on each side, until browned.

Wipe out the pan with a dry paper towel, add more butter and oil to the pan, and continue to fry the pancakes until all the batter is used. 

The pancakes can stay warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes.

 Serve hot. (I drained the pancakes on paper towels before putting them on a serving tray. Ina suggests keeping them in a warm oven while you finish making the batch. Since we were eating them immediately, I served them after draining the fat.)

After your reading of my trepidations about zucchini, I am happy to share how rich in flavor, this dish is. Of course, I still credit the cheese but without the zucchini, what would we have - fried cheese and flour?
Do I recommend this? Absolutely!

Linked to Frugal Food Thursdays