I’m calling these zucchini spelt fritters and there’s nothing you can do about it!! (She cackles in fiendish etymological glee).
Shetland has it’s own dialect. It’s mostly a mix of Scots, English, and an old Norse language called Norn. When we’re in Canada Buddy uses a toned down version of his normal accent in the hopes of making himself understood. So it came as some surprise that, just as I’d finally figured out what on earth he was saying in Canada, and upon coming to Shetland for the first time, not only were all of his family and friends talking in dialect, but so was he! I had no idea what anyone was saying for about a week. I’m happy to say though that I’ve got it figured out now…mostly (there’s one of the nephews who writes dialect posts on Facebook sometimes and even after nearly 5 years here he manages to have me baffled).
I’ve been determined the whole time that we’ve been here to maintain my Canadian accent. But since having our eldest I’ve caught myself using the odd expression or word that I wouldn’t normally use, mostly because when he was really young I thought the difference in dialect would maybe confuse him a bit (more fool me, he had it figured out before he was even talking and now, at 3, speaks to me in a Canadian accent and to Buddy in dialect). The annoying thing is that once you’ve been somewhere for a while, and if you’re surrounded by the language you start to lose track of which expressions are your original ones, and which are the ones from the place you’re in. I think there are now some words and expressions that slip freely from my lips that would have most Canadians scratching their heads.
But sometimes you must draw a line. And here is my line. Here with griddled blobs of dough is where I stand up and exclaim that I have not cooked “courgette fritters”… No… these are zucchini fritters.
Well, now that’s clear… here’s a warm and satisfying recipe for these shortening days as the temperature falls. If you’ve been following the blog you have probably noticed that I am a little bit in love with spelt flour, so of course, I decided to make a spelt version of classic zucchini fritters. These are lovely for lunch, or pair really nicely with a warm chili for dinner.
So draa dee inaboot fur a peerie scar o maet!
- 175g whole spelt flour
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 240 mL milk (either dairy or plant based)
- 1 Lrg zucchini, grated coarsely
- A bit of oil for brushing the pan
- In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt. Make a well in the centre.
- Beat together the egg and milk in a jug.
- Pour the milk/egg mixture into the well in the flour bit by bit, picking up the flour while you whisk. Continue until you have a smooth, runny batter similar to pancake batter. Stir in the grated zucchini.
- Brush a skillet with a bit of oil and allow it to heat up over medium heat. Once it’s hot ladle small scoops of the batter onto the hot skillet and let it cook for about 5 minutes, until the under side is golden brown. Flip the fritters over and allow to cook until golden on the other side.
- Repeat with the rest of the mixture.