Vegan Oil-free Zucchini Fritters

• First you will need to shred your zucchini and weigh 274 grams. Make sure you are using the larger wholes on your grater and not the tiny holes. Refer to photo above, but basically use the 1/4 inch size holes on your grater. You want them in the shredded strips, not the super fine grated. After shredding, loosely fill 2 1/2 cups to accurately measure.
• Place your shredded zucchini into a strainer and place a couple of paper towels on top and press down really hard squeezing out all the excess water beneath the strainer. Then wrap the zucchini in a papertowel and squeeze out any more. You don't need to obsess over every drop, just get most of the water out so the cakes cook up and aren't too watery. Place the dried zucchini into a large bowl.
• Add the corn and almond butter.
• In a separate small bowl, combine the oat flour (make sure it is finely ground into a powder if making your own), garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and smoked paprika and stir until well mixed.
• Add the dry mixture to the zucchini mixture and stir for a good couple of minutes until it all comes together. It will seem too dry at first, but keep stirring and pressing the batter with the back of the spoon and it will start to stick. It should be moist and somewhat sticky. It will seem like they won't hold, but trust me, they bake up and become much more firm.
• Divide into 4 sections and form balls and then flatten out into little patties about 1/2 inch thick. Place onto parchment paper and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up some.
• Once the time is almost up, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Bake the patties for 25 minutes, carefully flip them over with a spatula (they will be tender but should flip easily) and bake for another 10-15 minutes depending on how crispy you want them. They should be a very golden brown color. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving.
• While they are baking, prepare the creamy lemon pepper sauce!

FOR THE SAUCE

• If you do not have a high powered blender like a Vitamix, then you will need to soak the cashews overnight in a bowl of water to really soften them, otherwise the sauce will be gritty. I repeat, your sauce will be gritty if you do not have a Vitamix or soak them. Drain and rinse and add them to a blender. I believe a food processor will work better than a standard blender if you don't have a Vitamix.
• Add the cashews, lemon juice, water, onion powder, pepper and salt. Blend until completely smooth. You will need to scrape the sides a couple of times during blending. Taste and adjust spices if necessary. I thought it was perfect as is. It has a nice balance of lemon and black pepper flavor. Feel free to make it extra spicy if you like. This sauce also makes a great salad dressing!
• The sauce will thicken the longer it sits and especially after being stored in the fridge. Just thin out with a tiny amount of water if desired.