It's coming up on the abundant zucchini time of year, the summertime overflow of showy blossoms and bulbous squashes. If you are growing it in your garden, it's easy to turn from delight at the zucchini bounty to panic at the onslaught of seemingly endless squashes.

There are many ways to avoid courgette burnout, but I think one of the very best is shredding up a whole mess of zucchini with some haloumi and a beaten egg and frying up some tasty fritters. An enormous volume of zucchini can be dispatched into crispy, squeeky-cheese filled snacks. Add a spicy dip and it's a perfect appetizer or entire dinner, if you want to wolf down the whole plate like I did.

If you want to turn these into a proper dinner, serve the fritters over a big herby green salad with a couple handfuls of basil, mint, parsley and dill. The amounts here are flexible, but you are aiming for a mixture that is moist and clumping but not soggy and runny. Add extra egg for more liquid and more breadcrumbs/chickpea flour to sop up extra liquid.

haloumi & zucchini fritters:

2-3 large zucchini, or more, this recipe is flexible!
1-2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 package of haloumi shredded, about 2/3 cup
2-3 tbs panko breadcrumbs or chickpea flour for a GF version
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch chili flakes
salt and pepper
oil for frying

Shred zucchini and place in a colander. Salt the zucchini and let sit for 10 minutes to drain. Press with paper towels until zucchini gives off no more liquid. Combine other ingredients except oil together in a large bowl and mix until evenly combined.

Heat oil over medium high heat in a large pan. Fry 1/3 cupfuls of mixture well spaced apart in the pan for a couple minutes per side. They should unstick easily from the pan and slide around when they are ready to flip. When both sides are deep gold and crispy, set on paper towels while you finish frying the others.

spicy dip:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Dip those fritters!

It got magically hot here in Victoria in the last week. After months about complaining about cold and damp and having to wear all these sweaters, I was immediately complaining about the beautiful, sunny, lovely weather that I have been hoping for for weeks. It's too hot, I don't have the right clothes for this, I can't sleep. It was a sweltering 23° C yesterday and and I was whining. I did have the perfect meal to go with the wonderful weather though. Light and summery, you only need to turn on the stovetop for a few minutes to grill the cheese, or you can barbecue it if you are careful not to let it drop between the grill bars.

Haloumi is a strange and delightful cheese. If you haven't tried it before, it may sound a bit odd, but don't let that put you off. It's salty and very firm and mild flavoured. It has the magical property of not melting when heated, so you can grill or roast it and it holds its shape and develops a fantastic crispy-toasty exterior. It also squeaks in your teeth when you eat it, which sounds a little weird and rubbery but in a way that is so satisfying. It's hearty and sort of meaty almost and makes a meal out of a light salad.

If you can't find haloumi, feta cheese will work too. It can still be grilled or pan fried, but it's a little more melty than haloumi so it might spread a bit.

watermelon radish and haloumi salad:

2-3 watermelon radishes, scrubbed and sliced paper thin
3 big handfuls arugula
pea shoots or microgreens
a few sprigs parsey, chopped
1 package haloumi, sliced into thick blocks

In a lightly oiled grill pan fry the haloumi slices over medium heat until dark grill lines appear and flip. You can also use a regular flat pan, but you won't have the delightful grill lines.

Combine vegetables and lay haloumi slices on top.

basil dressing:

adapted from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook