Zucchini Pancakes with Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise

I eat a lot of zucchini. It's one of my favourite vegetables, and while I mostly eat it raw in salads, it is wonderful to cook with. Zucchini has a really high water content -- which not only makes it low in calories, it helps make foods incredibly and unbelievably moist. I learned this when I made zucchini and chocolate chip muffins.

Looking for new ways to explore this vegetable, I turned back to Ina Garten and discovered zucchini pancakes. My mother's immediate question was: "Do you put maple syrup on them?" Well, no. They're not those kind of pancakes -- more like crab cakes or the asiago crumpets I made.

I made these one night for dinner with a garlic mayonnaise and they were a hit. These could easily be served as a side dish with steak or meat, or as a part of a brunch buffett. And I have no doubt that kids would love them and wouldn't even think they were full of folate, potassium and Vitamin A!

Ingredients

Zucchini Pancakes:

• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 6-8 tbsp flour
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Roasted Garlic Mayo:

• 1 head roasted garlic
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Directions

• Wash and shred the zucchini with a cheese grater.
• In a bowl, whisk two eggs. Add 6 tbsp flour.
• Add zucchini and salt and pepper and toss.
• If batter is too runny, add the other 2 tbsp of flour. Note that this will be more zucchini than "batter," but it should be coated in the flour and egg mixture.
• Heat olive oil in a frying pan and turn down to medium. Ladel batter into silver dollar-sized pancakes.
• Cook each side for 3-4 minutes, until browned.
• Serve with garlic mayonnaise.

To make the roasted garlic mayo, simply add one head of roasted garlic (squeezed and mashed) to 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and stir. You may want to do this in advance so the flavours melt together better.

From Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home