Spiced Carrot Fritters with Feta Lime Sauce

Active Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Why we love it:

Who doesn’t love a fritter? These are addictive and very simple to pull off and a great way to get your kids eating veggies. The recipe is written for all carrots, but if you have a bumper crop of zucchini this summer, bookmark this and make it with half zucchini! They taste great at room temperature so they easily work for entertaining and if you fry them on an electric griddle and make them smaller, they’re a super cute and popular appetizer.

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Ingredients

2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon Black Pepper
1 pound Carrot (about 3 large, shredded)
¹⁄₄ cup Panko Breadcrumbs
¹⁄₂ Shallot (finely diced)
6 Green Onions (white and green parts thinly sliced)
¹⁄₄ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 clove Garlic (minced)
2 Limes (zested and juices, divided)
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 ounces Feta Cheese (crumbled)
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil (or more for frying)
5 cups Spring Mix Salad Greens (for serving)

Cooking Instructions

1. SHRED CARROTS

It’s easy to shred the carrots in a food processor with the shredder attachment. We get it - you have to go find that blade (did you even keep it?) and figure out how the parts work, but for this recipe it makes shredding a snap. If you don’t have one or can’t find the parts, use the large holes of a box grater, it takes a little longer but carrots are easy to grate!

Slice the scallions as finely as you can with a knife. Set aside.

Finely dice the shallot - if you have half of one from another recipe use just half, if you’re using a whole one you can dice it all and use it.
2. FRITTER MIXTURE

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, finely minced shallot, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt and the pepper. Add the carrots to the bowl and toss to coat. Fold in the panko, then about half of the scallions, the chili flakes (if using), the lime zest only, minced garlic clove, and the ground cumin.
3. LIME FETA SAUCE

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice (reserving just ½ teaspoon), 1 tablespoon olive oil, and remaining scallions (except).

Gently stir the feta into the lime-scallion mixture, breaking it up a bit to make a marinated cheese sauce. Add a little black pepper if desired.
4. FRYING

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. This is a fantastic time for your cast iron pan, but any flat bottom heavy skillet will do and even a non-stick frying pan or griddle works too! Add 1 tablespoon oil. When its shimmery, drop 3 Tablespoons of the carrot mixture into the skillet in 4-6 piles depending on the size of your skillet. It’s just like making latkes or pancakes.

Cook until golden brown and crisp on the bottom, then carefully flip to the other side. About 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack while you repeat with the remaining oil and carrot mixture, adding more oil to the skillet when necessary to keep it well coated.
5. GREEN SALAD

Wash and dry lettuces if needed. Toss with olive oil, a pinch of salt, and the remaining teaspoon of lime juice.
6. PLATING

Serve carrot fritters stacked or shingled for a nice presentation and spoon the lime feta sauce over top. Add the green salad on the side.

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Substitutions

GLUTEN FREE :

Use gf bread crumbs, or a crumbled piece of GF bread, let it soak in the eggs a bit before adding the carrots
DAIRY FREE :

Skip the feta in the sauce, use a dairy free cheese, or serve these with hummus or tahini in the sauce instead. Stir in the scallions and a little lime to make it thinner and tangy.
CARROTS:

Potatoes, yams, beets, zucchini, or any combination therein! All works very simply.
FETA:

chevre or a little sour cream would be delicious too
PESCATARIAN:

Like latkes, serving these topped with smoked salmon or as a side dish to grilled salmon is amazingly delicious
PANKO:

Panko is japanese breadcrumbs that are fluffy and cracker like. They’re fairly common nowadays so most stores will have them, perhaps in the “Asian Foods” section, but substituting for regular breadcrumbs is completely fine too.