Monday, July 20, 2009

Certainly lighter than beef


Zucchini Burgers
America's Healthy Cooking Copyright 2004

1 ½ pounds zucchini, shredded
2 tablespoons margarine
1 large onion, finely chopped
¼ cup fine dried bread crumbs
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 onion bagels, split and toasted I didn't eat these on bagels

1. Drain zucchini in a colander for 30 minutes; then squeeze to remove moisture. While zucchini is draining, melt 2 teaspoons of the margarine in a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add onion; stir often until lightly browned (about 10 minutes). Scrape into bowl.
2. Mix drained zucchini, crumbs, eggs, and cheese with onion in bowl. In frying pan, melt remaining 4 teaspoons margarine over medium-high heat. Ladle three ¼-cup mounds of zucchini mixture into pan, spreading each to make a 3-inch wide patty. Cook until patties are lightly browned on bottom (about 3 minutes). With a wide spatula, turn patties over; continue to cook until browned on other side (about 3 more minutes). Remove from pan and keep warm. Repeat to cook remaining zucchini mixture, making 3 more patties. To serve, place burgers on bagels.

I got 8 patties and a baby using my 1/4-cup scoop.

I didn't copy the nutritional info since it included the bagel calories and bagels come in so many different sizes. The calories were 262. If anyone wants the full info, let me know.
__________________________

The name 'Zucchini Burgers' conjures up visions of something more than just a zucchini pancake but these were basically just zucchini pancakes. I'm not complaining - I love zucchini pancakes. These were a good version - mostly zucchini which is a plus, although flipping them was a delicate maneuver. They were a bit light on salt but I'm trying to cut back on salt so that was okay with me.

I never thought of eating zucchini pancakes as a sandwich before which is really a good idea. They have protein from the eggs and cheese and are certainly less caloric than meat burgers. I made these for my lunch this week and I'll probably try one on a whole-wheat bun.

What a day yesterday. I baked and cooked all day long and I think it was just too much. I don't know what I was thinking but since we didn't have anything else planned, it was probably a good use of my time. Not everything turned out as I expected which you'll be hearing about in the coming days.

Question of the Day: Do you like zucchini?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I LOVE zucchini! It's one of my favorites.

tootie said...

Zucchini is so good, and these pancakes look very tasty! I will definitely give them a try.

Red Dirt Mummy said...

Wow, these look interesting. I love zucchini and use it a lot in different dishes. I'm planning on growing them in the vege garden this summer.

M Smith said...

LOVE it! Raw, dipped in hummus, grated and added to eggs, fried as patties, steamed, pureed (with a little butter added) and poured over pasta, marinated and grilled...

Anonymous said...

This recipe sounds so good. I like zucchini but really prefer yellow squash. Hubby doesn't like zucchini, so we don't usually have it, but I'll bet he would like it in this recipe.

Jan