Mozzarella Zucchini Dots

This week with the food Co-Op we were given a lot of zucchini. So, the challenge for the moment is how to make zucchini interesting enough to eat at more than one meal. I need options!! After all, even the best foods can get old after a while - especially if my kids to don't help us eat them! I dug around and found several "vegetable tot" recipes that looked promising (and kid-friendly) and decided to modify that basic concept into a side dish. I'm calling them dots because they don't resemble tots at all. However, to be honest, they are just small patties. My daughter suggested that we just make them bigger and they could easily be zucchini burgers...but we'll play with that thought on the next blog.

If you're still on the fence about whether or not you want to put zucchini on the menu, take a quick detour on the link below.

Processing the zucchini for something other than a stir fry was new to me. I grated and entire zucchini onto a cloth and then proceeded to wring out the excess moisture. (I highly suggest cheesecloth but I didn't have any on hand.) I was a little surprised how much fluid I was able to extract - you have been warned. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 400°F.

Drop the cornstarch into a gallon ziplock bag and add the freshly squeezed zucchini pieces. Shake the two together until the pieces are coated with a light layer of cornstarch. Chop the onion up using a food processor for the smallest possible chunks (assuming that you can't let the kids see them). This also reduces the amount of chunky material that your eggs will need to hold together. Add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir it together until well mixed.

Form your mixture into "dots." I made them where they would comfortably fit into the palm of my hand. Place the dots onto a greased baking sheet. You can place them relatively close together as they won't spread as they cook, however, I suggest leaving enough space to make it easy to turn them over. Bake your dots for 20 minutes, flipping them over after 10 minutes.

I served these with Ranch as a dipping sauce and it was difficult to keep from eating all of them in one sitting! The mozzarella was a nice compliment without completely covering up the taste of the zucchini. However, if you have a picky eater I would suggest a stronger cheese (like Sharp Cheddar).

Out of curiosity, I did try pan frying a few of the tots to get an idea of how the taste differed from baking. I used coconut oil to fry about 5 dots. They fry quickly and easily in a matter of minutes with no real difference in the crunchiness or taste. That said, if you fried them in a different oil (or, for my kids, butter) it might add that extra "yummy" factor for little eaters.

If you need to hide the green completely from your little ones then you could peel the zucchini before making your dots and slide the goodness on to their plates. Overall, this one is a keeper and I am ready to make more!