Zucchini and goat cheese pancakes with roasted tomatoes

Pancakes come in two varieties: innocent, sweet pancakes often combined with fruit such as blueberry pancakes and darker, savory pancakes often combined with vegetables, such as potato pancakes. This offering fits neatly into the latter spot. The acidity of the tomatoes makes a nice contrast to the simple flavors of the zucchini and the smooth punch of the goat cheese. These pancakes will taste good at any time of day, but I think they would be ideal as a brunch offering.

Makes four appetizer servings or two main dishes.

You will need:

• 4 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound fresh zucchini
• 1 tablespoon salt (I like kosher salt)
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• Zest scraped off half a lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
• 1/2 cup flour (preferably unbleached)
• 2 eggs
• Black pepper to taste
• 3.5 ounces crumbled goat cheese (you might be able to substitute feta cheese)
• Additional olive oil and vegetable oil for frying the pancakes

Preparation:

First, make the roasted tomatoes. Wash the tomatoes thoroughly and cut them in half, removing their cores. Place them cut-side up in a baking dish and drizzle the olive oil evenly over them. Throw the dish into a 400 degree oven for 35 minutes. Set the tomatoes aside to let them cool.

Now for the pancakes. Wash the zucchini and cut off the stems. Use a grater with wide holes to grate the zucchini into a bowl. Mix in the salt. Now place the zucchini in a colander and wait about 30 minutes. This process drains the excess water from the zucchini. After the 30 minutes is up quickly rinse the zucchini to wash off the salt. Dump the zucchini onto a clean dish towel, wrap the towel around everything, and gently squeeze to dry. Put the zucchini in a bowl and mix in the garlic, lemon zest, basil, flour, eggs, and pepper. Fold the goat cheese into the batter.

Add an equal amount of olive oil and vegetable oil to a large skillet to make a 1/4 inch deep layer. Heat this over medium heat until hot, being careful to not let the oil burn. Use a big spoon or a ladle to add the batter to the skillet. The size of the pancakes is up to you, but I tend to make them about four inches in diameter. Fry the pancakes for a couple of minutes until the side looks nice and brown, then flip and cook the other side. Once done, drain the pancakes on paper towels.

Serve the pancakes with the roasted tomatoes. It's best to serve the pancakes warm, but room temperature pancakes are probably just as tasty. Enjoy!

Ouroboros recommends beating the egg white separately from the egg yolk to add air and make the pancakes lighter.
sneff advises crumbling some extra feta over the finished pancakes.