Butternut Squash Fritters with Garlicky Yogurt

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. When life hands you anything else, make a fritter! Or fritter it. Once you adopt fritter as a verb, you might find yourself free from the confines of any one recipe, and your options are seemingly endless (think: everything from broccoli fritters and corn fritters to Parmesan-laced zucchini fritters and avocado fritters).

Here, the concept of a fritter transitions from summer to fall, swapping classic zucchini for an autumnal celebrity: the butternut squash. Roasted on its own, blended into mac and cheese, folded into cheesecake — there are few things this hearty treasure can’t do. These butternut squash fritters prove the point. And just wait until you dollop on some garlicky yogurt sauce!

One of the reasons fritters are so easy to make at any time is because at their simplest, they just need some flour and an egg or two to bind them. Butternut squash can handle a strong blend of spices, so this recipe incorporates one of my favorites: a North African spice blend called ras el hanout. Although the exact contents change from region to region, ras el hanout typically consists of some combination of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove, cardamom, paprika, turmeric, and more, and lends a rich, warm aroma.

In this recipe, I’ve also included raisins. These lend sweetness, and chopping them into smaller pieces makes for more even dispersal and a sweet treat in every bite.

Think outside of the box (grater) in this recipe, and use the tool famous for cheese shredding in a whole new way. You’ll want to start with a whole butternut squash rather than pre-cut cubes here, as cutting it into large pieces is an easier size to hold onto and grate, as opposed to small chunks. Grating the squash gives you thin strands that fry up in mere minutes. While you’re at it, grate your onion, too, and save your knife skills for another day. 

Any neutral oil, such as canola, vegetable, or peanut, will work best for frying these fritters to golden-brown perfection. Be sure to use a heavy cast iron skillet, if you have one; they retain heat amazingly well, helping to keep your oil at an even temperature. And be sure to save the bottle it comes in. Once the oil cools completely, scoop out any errant fritter bits, and use a funnel to pour it back into the bottle and save it for at least two to three more uses.