Greek Zucchini Fritters Kolokithokeftedes Recipes

GREEK ZUCCHINI FRITTERS KOLOKITHOKEFTEDES RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• 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.

KOLOKITHOKEFTEDES (GREEK ZUCCHINI FRITTERS) WITH TZATZIKI RECIPE

Steps:

• Make Tzatziki: Squeeze excess moisture from cucumber. In a small bowl, mix yogurt, garlic, cucumber and vinegar or lemon juice. Stir in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Make Fritters: Lay out a layer of paper towels and spread out grated zucchini. Sprinkle zucchini with salt and let sit for at least thirty minutes and up to an hour. Squeeze out all excess moisture from zucchini.
• Put drained zucchini in a large bowl with dill, scallions, nutmeg, and feta. Mix to combine. Stir in eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in flour until dough comes together, adding slightly more flour if dough is too wet to form patties. Form dough into 3-4 inch patties.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Fry patties until golden brown on both sides and cooked through but still moist, about 2-3 minutes per side. Serve hot with tzatziki alongside.