Greek Zucchini Fritters Kolokithokeftedes

By Foodiewife

These Greek Zucchini Fritters are a savory side dish, or appetizer that uses zucchini in a different way. I really like the combo of zucchini, creamy feta cheese and Japanese panko crumbs, with fresh dill and mint. This very simple side dish makes a pretty presentation. The Greek Tzasiki sauce is made with Creamy Greek Yogurt, with some refreshing cucumber, dill and a touch of cumin and lemon. It's all so refreshing, and pretty darn healthy!

You can see how I made this on my food blog at: http://foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/03/greek-zucchini-fritters.html

Ingredients

• Tzatziki :
• 2 medium to large zucchini, coarsely grated
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 4 green onions including green parts, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped (optional, I didn't use)
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 tablespoons Panko bread crumbs
• Salt
• Olive oil
• 1 cup Greek yogurt*
• 1 small clove garlic, grated
• 1/4 cucumber, peeled and grated
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 lemon, juiced

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 30mins
Adapted from foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

NOTE: *If you only have regular yogurt, you will need to set it in a fine sieve or cheese cloth, overnight, to remove excess liquid. Greek Yogurt is much thicker in texture than regular yogurt.

For the sauce:
Mix yogurt, a grated clove of garlic, cucumber, the juice of 1 lemon and ½ teaspoon cumin. Refrigerate, to allow the flavors to marry, while you prepare the fritters.

Wash the zucchini. With skins on, grate them with the coarse side of a grater (or a food processor, which I prefer).

Remove the zucchini by the handful, squeezing to remove as much liquid as you can. You can also use a tea towel or cheese cloth. I use a ricer, which works brilliantly to remove a lot of liquid! This is important, or you could end up with soggy fritters.

Put the grated and drained zucchini into a bowl with herbs, feta and green onions. Mix with a fork.

Add the lightly beaten egg and stir. Add flour and panko bread crumbs. The mixture should be wet but not watery.

Mix in a small dose of salt-- I prefer kosher salt. NOTE: Feta cheese already has some saltiness, so I went easy on the salt and I am glad that I did!

Heat olive oil in a pan about 1/8 inch deep covering the entire pan. When the oil hot and shimmering, scoop out a spoonful of the zucchini mixture I used an ice cream scoop) and put it in the pan. Let the fritters cook about 3-4 minutes or until brown and then flip them. Cook another 3-4 minutes until browned.

Remove fritters and place on a paper towel -lined plate to remove some excess oil. Serve hot with tzatiki sauce.


If using regular yogurt, put yogurt in a cheesecloth lined sieve over a bowl. Drain several hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Greek yogurt is thicker and does not need the draining. Peel, seed and coarsely grate cucumbers. Drain well. Add garlic, vinegar, olive oil, sat and pepper to cucumbers. Mix well. Add drained yogurt and blend.