Zucchini-Carrot Vegetable Cakes with Dill, Oregano, and Mint
(Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free Option)
Last week, I hauled steaming-fresh mulch into my garden – 200 pounds, moved in several satisfyingly arm-fatiguing trips. Then I stood in the sun, which fitted itself to my body and slowly, insistently warmed me until I was bare-armed, bare-legged but prudently gloved. I churned up the soil, removed debris, raked the ground flat again, certain muscles rising out of dormancy with the hyacinths. Finally I pressed my knees into the dirt and planted: spinach, lettuce, peas, beets, chard, radishes. Hope made tangible. And heirlooms, every last seed. When I finally put my tools away and dragged myself inside, I thought I’d scored my first dusty tan of the season – until the hot shower sent it funneling down the drain. Ah spring. Such a singular happiness.
That night I really did dream of my little seedlings. In my dreamtime backyard, which had become a forest, I wandered, randomly shoving my hands into thickets of foliage, the brushed-leaf scent so vibrant and sharp that it lingers still. Each time my fingers filled with plump, glowing fruits — corn, peppers, fat spicy radishes full of moisture. And the shades – hot pink, gold bar, emerald and amethyst (just like — go ahead and say it — this prose. I am well aware). It’s possible that I laughed in my sleep (yes, well aware. but it’s still true).
I woke to three inches of snow sheathing the garden. And the wind! It was gone by noon, but still. This weekend, the weatherman is calling for a hard freeze Sunday and another couple of snow showers next week — after a 70-degree-and-sunny Saturday.
I shouldn’t act so indignant. None of us should. Truth is, we’ve barely scratched the surface of spring, at least as far as the calendar is concerned. And I think we forget how radically things have changed in the last two decades. Not long ago, it wasn’t uncommon to get a persistent freeze in April. There’s more than one Easter photo of my siblings and me collecting eggs in the snow. When I really consider it, I mourn the loss of winter as it was – and the implications of that loss.
This isn’t to say that when spring finally arrives, I won’t be shovel-ready for it.
Deprivation is nature’s finest seasoning and I’ve been pulled thin by this terrible ache for the taste of things fresh and green. I long for them the way that octuplets mother must long for silence. The mint has begun to come back in the yard, and I keep checking at the woody base of the oregano for any deer-ear shaped growth. I’m pining for dill and the licorice-mint bite of new basil. Last weekend it felt so close. And then that snow.
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I couldn’t stand it anymore, folks. I broke all the eat-local rules and I went a little crazy. If Spring can’t quite make it to me, then I decided I was going out to find it.
I swooped into my local Asian grocery, where you can buy huge bunches of fresh-ish herbs for negligible amounts of cash. I hit those aisles running and wantonly threw one of everything into my basket. A bunch of dill, two hands of ginger, some fresh peppermint and a large, glorious vase-full of basil. A papaya, an avocado, and a mango. Cilantro, of course, and parsley. Then I went home and figured out what to do with it all.
I ended up with beautiful (but, alas, not photogenic) papaya and mango spring rolls. And these zucchini-carrot vegetable cakes with a little bit of everything stirred in.
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Zucchini-Carrot Cakes with All Sorts of Fresh Herbs and Mint-Dill Pesto
1 lb tofu, pressed
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
the zest of that lemon
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons fresh oregano
3 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
2-3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
1/2 zucchini, peeled and grated
1/2 cup grated carrots
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
oil for cooking
In a food processor, combine the tofu, pine nuts, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and half the fresh herbs. Process until the mixture is smooth, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs and the other half of the fresh herbs. Add more bread crumbs until you have the consistency of a wet dough. Stir in the zucchini, carrots and bell pepper and gently mix.
At this point you can either bake or pan-cook them in oil. If you want to bake, heat oven to 375. Brush a tray with oil, and set aside. Form the zucchini mix into patties, then coat them with extra bread crumbs. Brush lightly with oil and place them on the tray. Bake until browned and crispy on the outside, about 35 minutes, flipping once or twice for good measure.
If you want them skillet-fried, heat a thin layer of oil in a large pan. When the oil his hot enough that it sizzles when a drop of the batter hits it, place the zucchini patties in the oil and cook, flipping once, until they are browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total.
Mint-Dill Pesto
2 parts dill to one part mint
Enough oil to make a paste
Salt to taste
A splash of balsamic vinegar
This part is very unscientific — I was just using up the rest of the gorgeous mint and dill. Place your ingredients in a food processor and whirl until you have a thick sauce. Place a dollop on top each zucchini patty and enjoy!
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Tags: dill, fresh mint, mint dill pesto, zucchini-carrot vegetable patties
Becky: I enjoyed your amethyst prose and envied your warm, sunny-day garden work. We’ve had one or two warmish days recently, but we are promised more cold, rainy days in the very near future. All the snowdrops, crocuses, scylla hiding again, and the earthworms dying in the sodden earth! Until it’s really Spring!
Shelley said it better!:
The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
Her clarion o’er the dreaming earth, and fill 10
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odours plain and hill—
Ah Gilda, good to hear from you. Ah, Percy. Good to hear from you too. Cheers to the West Wind coming!
Fickle spring! Your zucchini carrot cakes look fantastic. They sound great with the pest too. I’m trying to wait patiently before planting some basil, and it’s almost time.
Lisa, you’re in Austin, right? It’s still too early for basil? Oh, the anticipation. Today is our beautiful, warm day — so I’m heading out.
Somehow I don’t think of mint and dill as going together, but they look so pretty and bright, and I think my favorite thai place has summer rolls with those herbs. If I wanted to add something nonvegetarian, any suggestions?
I’d stick with fish — if you’re talking about summer rolls, shrimp would be good. I used tofu in mine. True, that’s vegetarian, but it gave it a meaty texture and didn’t overpower the fresh herbs.
Those do look like cookies to everyone and not just me, right? Interesting idea, a vegetable cookie. I know that’s not what you were going for, maybe more of a burger, but the picture got me. We have a green house with the herbs you use so I’m going to give them a test.
RE: Black Bean Burger. I don’t do mayonnaise will the burger still bind well without the mayonnaise?
This recipe has no mayo. But if you mean the harissa black bean burger recipe, then yes. You could substitute tofu or probably even a water/olive oil mixture. It’s the moisture that binds the ingredients — the mayo also adds flavor but there is enough other seasoning that you won’t miss it.
Found you recently, and I’m appreciating it.
I love your apt description of the first hard work of spring — SO very satisfying, but it really reminds you of how holed up we’ve been all winter, doesn’t it?
LOVE the look of these delicious veggie cakes. I know what you mean about sometimes just CRAVING what’s green and… often not local. I think a splurge every now and again is worth it, though. Don’t you?
Cheers to the first days of spring!
Your zucchini cakes in the photo – baked or panfried?
D: One of each, actually. I pan-fried them first and didn’t like the greasiness — even though I didn’t use much oil. Probably I didn’t get it hot enough — I’m a terribly fryer, since I never do it. So then I baked them the second time and they came out really nicely — crisp and well cooked but not heavy. Both versions came out golden.