EASY ITALIAN ZUCCHINI FRITTERS

Appetizer - Vegetarian and lactose free - Can be vegan (READ footnotes)

It is commonly said that everything tastes better, when it's fried. Well, zucchini are no exception ;-) I made these as part of a mixed appetizers and were the first ones to be finished... ;-) They are good even at room temperature!!!

2 medium zucchini

1 egg

Italian 00 flour (about 1 cup)

cold beer (about 6 oz.)

Italian sea salt

Italian extra virgin olive oil to fry

In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg with a couple pinches of salt, then add beer and flour and mix well, to avoid lumps, until you obtain a smooth batter (a little thicker than pancake batter). Put in refrigerator.

Grate zucchini with a large holes grater, remove batter from refrigerator and transfer grated zucchini to the same bowl, tossing until they are all well combined.

Refrigerate, again, until olive oil reaches the right temperature.

Spoon the mixture in oil, few spoonfuls at a time, and turn them until they are golden on both sides.

Remove from oil and line on paper towels, to absorb excess oil.

Serve immediately.

- Quantities are approximate: it depends on the amount and size of the zucchini.

- With leftover batter you can just make some fritters to add to your appetizer.

- You can add some nutmeg to the batter, as my friend Renata does (and it tastes good!!!)

- If you don't want to use beer, you can do with sparkling water (it won't be as tasty, though).

- Keep the mixture in the refrigerator until right before frying! The thermal shock will prevent them from absorbing too much oil.

- They are lactose free and vegetarian. You can easily make it vegan by avoiding the egg in the batter.