Zucchini Pancakes With Creamy Dill Sauce
This is a dish popular in eastern Europe including the Ukraine.
Total Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4
- ½ cup kefir
- ½ cup sour cream or crème fraîche
- ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons dill, chopped
- 1½ scallions plus 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice, plus more as needed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1½ Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 4 small zucchini, coarsely grated
- ½ cup farmer’s cheese*,
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for frying
How to:
- Make sauce: In a medium bowl, stir kefir, sour cream, 3 tablespoons dill, 2 tablespoons scallions and 1 teaspoon lemon juice until combined. Season with salt and set aside.
- Make salad: In another medium bowl, toss together tomatoes, cucumbers, remaining scallions and remaining dill. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Make batter: In a large bowl, fold together zucchini, cheese, egg and flour. Whisk in buttermilk. Season with salt.
- Pour enough oil into a large nonstick pan to cover base with ¼ inch oil. Set pan over medium heat and, once oil is hot, drop a small bit of batter into pan. If it sizzles gently on contact, start frying. Pour ¼ cup batter into pan and gently flatten it, making one pancake. Repeat until pan is full but not overcrowded. Shallow-fry pancakes until golden, about 4 minutes. Flip and fry until golden on reverse side, about 3 minutes more. Transfer cooked pancakes to a paper-towel-lined platter. Repeat with additional oil and remaining batter. Season pancakes with salt.
- Dress salad with 2 tablespoons oil and remaining lemon juice. Serve pancakes with sauce drizzled on top and salad alongside.
* Farmer’s cheese, a fresh cheese variety, is a pressed cottage cheese that is slightly more acidic and has a firmer texture, thanks to a lower moisture content. Farmer’s cheese can be made from the milk of cows, sheep, or goats and can be rolled in different herbs or seasonings for extra flavor. You should be able to find it in better grocers. You can also substitute with paneer cheese, large curd cottage cheese, or feta.