With the prices in the grocery store rising on a daily basis, it is getting more difficult to create tasty meals. I have begun to avoid many cuts of meat due to their expense. This creates a challenge to find new dishes to make to keep us from getting bored with the same few dishes over and over. The farmer’s market is full of fresh vegetables right now, so it is a great time to look at new vegetable dishes that can serve as a meatless main. For inspiration, I got out my Milk Street Vegetables cookbook to search the pages for something new.
I found this recipe for zucchini fritters that seemed to be a good one. They are oven baked, so no messy frying. It starts with grating the zucchini using the larges holes on a box grater.
Spread the grated zucchini in a muslin towel, forming into a long row.
Twist the towel hard, wringing out as much water as you can. Do this over a sink.
Put the zucchini in a bowl and add the egg and panko bread crumbs.
Form the mixture into patties, and bake. The recipe calls for small balls pressed into patties, but I made mine about the size of a crab cake.
Turn the patties over halfway through baking so both sides get crisp.
Drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Download the recipe here – Baked Zucchini Fritters. The recipe has an additional sauce made of yoghurt and feta, but we thought ranch salad dressing was perfect. Next time, maybe horseraddish sauce would be good.
The day before I did the zucchini fritters, I prepped tomatoes for my famous tomato pie. The secret to a great tomato pie is getting the water out of the tomatoes. Clean the slices well, and drain for at least 12 hours preferable 24 hours on paper towels.
Read the detailed instructions on my post Carole’s Tomato Pie. Download the recipe on that post, too.
Proper draining of the tomatoes means no water collects in the bottom of the dish, even after storing overnight. So, the crust remains nice and flaky for another meal the next day.
Either of these dishes can be a meatless main course, and eaten together make a very satisfying and filling meal.
Another recipe in the Vegetables cookbook was Lemon Artichoke Linguini. I made this before, and next time will take out the kilbasa and substitute mushrooms. If you like mushrooms, they can often substitute for meat in dishes like this.
Milk Street cookbooks have some wonderful new ideas for fresh flavors. The Two-Cheese Pasta with Cauliflower recipe was featured in the Milk Street magazine in 2019, and it is also included in Tuesday Nights Mediterranean as well as Backroads Italy. Download the recipe – Two-Cheese Pasta with Cauliflower
Shop the Milk Street Store, new items on sale, including the Vegetables cookbook, Tuesday Nights Mediterranean, Backroads Italy cookbook and the Kitchin-Ki Paring Knife, perfect for prepping vegetables.
Want some more ideas? Just put the word ‘meatless’ in the search bar on the right, and the blog will find a bunch of my posts on meatless main courses for you.
Do you enjoy vegetarian main courses? What is your favorite?
From My Carolina Home 
I agree, the cost of groceries is making it harder to manage a special needs diet & picky eaters. I have one of each. I may try the zucchini fritters but may add some cheese. My picky eater will almost always eat “strange” food that has cheese. I try to have one meatless or soup dinner a week.
Your meatless meal looks delicious! I much prefer veggies over meat! Thank you for sharing, Carole!
I’m actually more veganish. The zucchini can be made without the egg and even air fried.
You’d need something else then to hold the patties together. Without it, they would fall apart. What would you substitute? An air fryer is a good idea, but I don’t have one.
have always gorged on bounty of farmer’s markets, more so now that i follow a mostly plant based diet…i’ve made zuke pancakes for several years, similar to your fritters…plenty of veg options–ratatouille, gratins, eggplant parm and many more…possibilities are endless!
I like the idea of the fritters and of course tomato pie (though I don’t mess with tomatoes much here till August.) I’m trying to get Rick to eat more veggies as he’s trying hard to eat less pasta and I like that these are baked. That linguini does look good though!
Yes, nothing like fresh veggies!
The zucchini fritters look delicious! We will be making zoodles with tomato sauce for lunch today.
Yesterday I made a “carbonara frittata.” The dish ingredients were egg whites, diced prosciutto, vegan cheese, asparagus, salt and pepper. I baked until firm. We make lots of frittatas in the summer…fresh veggies and eggs are a great combination. Easy and fast too!
Alla salute…to your good health!
Those zucchini fritters look yummy! I like that they are baked in the oven. I’m not sure I could get Mike to eat a meatless meal, but these would be good with some grilled chicken, too. Thanks for sharing the recipes!
I made a Roasted Veggie Lasagna for an extended family get together & even our carnivores loved it. Regular recipe for Lasagna, but instead of meat, add any roasted veggies you like. We like mushrooms, zucchini, red bell pepper, onions, spinach & yellow squash.
For some time now we have been enjoying more vegetable type meals and eating less meat. I don’t think we could completely cut out meat because we enjoy it. Your Zucchini fritters look very tasty and of course your Tomato pie is most enjoyable. You will have to dig into that Vegetable book and find some more yummy stuff to test the taste buds! 😆
I mostly look at a clutch of vegetables and get going and see what happens. It’s amazing what can turn up on the plate!! 😂
Happy cooking Carole
Mary :))
I could eat tomato pie all summer!!! I tend to eat more veggies in the summer just because they are better & local.
The fritters look amazing! Nice crust on them, which must add to the taste when you take a bite! I’m always looking for new recipes, especially in the summer when I have the family once a week. I’ve got 1 very picky eater husband, and one family member who is “dairy free-gluten free-almond free” due to severe allergies. Lots of summer salads make it a bit easier.
Zucchini is a favorite here, although I refer to it as Kazumi the name given to it when my grandson was learning to talk.
i enjoy your tomato pie with a salad. I include hardboiled egg and either some nuts or beans in the salad. Nice and light in the heat!
I have a fried zuke fritters recipe but the addition of the za’atar sounds delicious. We all love the fritters and all the fresh, farmers market veggies! Thanks for the recipe and ideas.
YUM! We love this time of the year.
The fritters look so crunchy and yummy! What a great idea on how to use the amazing bounty that comes in summer!
Those fritters look yummy! I thought of you today while sewing with my new foot pad! It stays in place…I love it. Thank you for letting me buy one early.