Catfish Dinner with Zucchini Fritters and Corn with Calabacitas

 Photo/Suzanne Pitner

Summertime means plenty of zucchini, corn, tomatoes, and squash. This quick to fix dinner helps you use up an overabundance of those fresh vegetables in a new way. I'm going to post the recipes for each part of the dinner separately.

Start by cooking the zucchini pancakes first. While they cook, start the corn with calabacitas. Last, keep the zucchini pancakes warm in the oven while you cook the catfish. This dinner will serve four people.

Recipe for Zucchini Pancakes

• 2 1/2 pounds of zucchini, grated with the skin on
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Feta cheese
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup corn meal
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1/2 cup red onions, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Stir until the flour is completely mixed into the vegetables. The batter will be very thick.
Heat the oil until one drop of batter set in the pan sizzles.
Measure 1/2 cup of the batter and pour into the pan. Flatten the mound slightly. Depending on the size of your pan you may cook two or three pancakes at a time.
Cook over medium high heat until brown on the bottom, then gently flip.
Keep the pancakes warm in the oven until all the batter has been cooked.

Recipe for Corn with Calabacitas

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 small zucchini or other squash, cut into pieces (I used Mexican summer squash in the picture above.)
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 2 cups of corn (Fresh, canned, or frozen.)

Heat the oil in a pan.
Cook the onion and squash in the hot oil until soft and browned.
Add the corn. Turn the heat to low and keep warm until the rest of dinner is ready.

Recipe for Breaded Catfish

• 2 pounds catfish fillets
• 1 cup of bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• Mrs. Dash Salt Free Lemon Pepper Seasoning

 Dredge the catfish in the egg, then dip in the bread crumbs to coat.
Cook them in the same pan in which you cooked the zucchini pancakes. Add a little oil or spray the pan if it needs it.
When plating the food, put some Pico de Gallo over the fish. Add some lemon or lime wedges to the plate.

Wine pairing for this meal is a Torrontes from Argentina or an Agua de Sandia con vino blanco drink.

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