cheesy zucchini and potato cakes with fresh tomatoes sauce
i love any type of fried cake. we have my crunchy potato cakes for breakfast all the time! this time i wanted more of a meal. since the zucchini and squash looked so good at the store, i had a ton of it in the fridge. turning them into cakes seemed perfect. i started thinking of making a lasagna type dish with the cakes, with the ooey gooey cheese and almost drooled at the thought. as ya'll know, the hubby is not a huge fan of anything without meat. but he LOVED this dish. since he is more into crunch, i did not turn this recipe into a true lasagna with layers of patties, cheese and sauce. i made one layer with crunchy edges. but feel free to double the recipe and layer it into a lasagna. it would be delicious.
ingredients:
- 1 zucchini - shredded
- 1 yellow squash - shredded
- 1 baking potato - shredded
- 1 onion - divided, chopped
- 1 egg - lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese -
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs -
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus one tablespoon -
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme -
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste -
- 1 and 1/2 cup chicken broth - or vegetable broth (i used bouillon based)
- 1 large tomato - chopped
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese -
instructions:
- preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- preheat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- lay a kitchen towel open on the counter. put in the shredded squashes and potato in the middle of the towel. gather the towel up around the mixture and squeeze out all of the moisture. once all of the liquid is out, pour the squash and potato mixture out of the towel into a bowl. add 1/2 of the onion, the egg, parmesan cheese, panko bread crumbs and salt/pepper to taste to the bowl as well. stir until combined. form into 8 patties. carefully add the patties to the hot oil and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. remove to paper towels.
- heat the tablespoon of oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. add the remaining onion and garlic. saute for a few minutes until the onion is soft. add in the dried thyme and tomato paste. cook for a few more minutes to allow the tomato paste to brown slightly. stir in the chicken broth and chopped tomato. taste, season with salt/pepper accordingly. reduce the heat to simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until thickened slightly.
- in a casserole dish or sheet tray, add the patties. ladle some of the tomato mixture over each patty. top with mozzarella cheese. bake in the preheated oven for about 5 - 10 minutes until cheese is melted.
about to hit the oven!
feel free to bake the patties instead sauteing them. lightly grease a baking sheet, add the patties and lightly spray the tops of the patties. bake them at 375 degrees. they will crunch up in the oven in no time.
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