Crispy fried courgette cheese burger (ズッキーニチーズ挟み揚げ)

/ Haruka Sugiyama

Description: No bun but still an enjoyable mini burger fries. This can also be for canapés or kids menu.
Serves: 8 pieces
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • Courgette – chopped in about 6 mm thick, 200g (I had 16 slices to make 8 pieces of sandwiches)
  • Edam (Alternatively, Monterey Jack cheese – according to your preference) – cut into 4 pieces, 4 slices
  • Ground black peppers – 2 dashes
  • Sunflower oil – 4 tablespoons
  • Water – 60 mL
  • Plain flour – 30g
  • Bread crumbs – 40g

Method

1. Sandwich the cheese with 2 pieces of similar size of courgettes.  
2. Mix water, flour and black pepper. (Do not mix too much as the dough will be hard due to gluten)
3. Soak under the mixture, then cover with bread crumbs.
4. In a non-stick frying pan, add sunflower oil and fry the courgette with medium heat. Once it gets brown, turn it over to fry the other side. Ideally, fry all sides so that it gets crispy.

To serve: Squeeze lemon according to your preference.

Nutritional Values Per Serving (2 pieces)

KcalProteinFatCarbsFibreSugarsSaltSaturated Fat
270.07.7g20.5g14.8g1.2g1.9g0.7g4.9g
13.5%15.4%29.3%5.7%3.9%2.1%11.3%24.5%
*These values are approximate and based on the value from ingredients prepared before cooking (Reference USDA). Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may vary depending on your calorie needs. Zinc, Folate, Vitamin B1 and Vitamin B2 are over 10%, Calcium, Phosphorus, Vitamin C and Vitamin B12 are over 20%, Vitamin D is over 40% of an adult’s daily reference intake. However, some vitamins may be lost while cooking.

Nutritional Tips

Courgette is also known as zucchini and it is a summer squash. Courgette is an amazing vegetable, it is suitable for weight loss, and diabetic meals as it contains low carbs, is rich in folate, a good source of fibre (contains both soluble and insoluble), and contains almost no fat, sugar or salt. It is super low in calories, less than mushrooms for the same weight: 1 piece of courgette (200g) is only 34 kcal (according to USDA).

They are commonly dark or light green, but you may also see yellow ones. It’s versatile: it can be added to pasta, risotto and burgers, stuffed, rolled or used in ajillo, kushikatsu (Japanese deep fry skewer) and tempura. I will introduce more recipes another time.

Courgette is a culinary vegetable but actually fruits botanically. In either case, it would be beneficial to us. Courgette is not the only one who can be a vegetable and fruit. There are others such as pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, peppers, avocados and tomatoes.

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