Kolokithokeftedes – Zucchini Fritters
Bring a taste of Greece into your home with these traditional zucchini fritters. These kolokithokeftedes are made with aromatic herbs, feta cheese and a pinch of cumin. Served with a Greek yogurt and honey dip.
Servings 10 zucchini fritters
Ingredients
Kolokithokeftedes (Zucchini Fritters)
- 4 medium zucchinis (or 3 large), grated
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional)*
- 1 handful fresh dill (10 g)
- 1 handful coriander leaves (10 g)
- 1 handful mint leaves (10 g)
- 2 spring onion
- 2 eggs
- 1⅓ cups feta cheese (200 g)
- 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons squeezed lemon juice
- ⅓ cup plain flour (80 g)
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Yogurt and Honey Dip
- 1 pot Greek yogurt (about 150 g)
- ½ tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- Grate the zucchinis into a large bowl.
- If you are using salt, sprinkle a teaspoon of salt over the grated zucchini and mix it in quickly with your hands. If not then simply leave it as it is.
- Set it aside for 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Take a blender and add the fresh dill, coriander and mint leaves, the spring onions (both white and some of the green parts), the 2 eggs and the feta cheese. Blend it just enough to make a rough mixture and empty into a mixing bowl.
- Return to the grated zucchini which needs to be drained of excess water. You can either place it in a kitchen towel, gather the ends and squeeze it tightly until water comes out. Or you can use paper towels to press down on the mixture to soak as much water as you can until it’s dry.
- When it’s ready, empty the grated zucchini into the mixing bowl with the other ingredients.
- Add the cumin, lemon juice and flour and stir it all together until well combined.
- When you’re ready to cook, heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, on a medium heat.
- Take a large spoonful of the mixture and place it in the pan. Press down onto it with a spoon, and push in the sides to form it into a round patty.
- Cook for a few minutes on each side until golden. Lower the heat if necessary so that they cook through.
- Remove the kolokithokeftedes from the pan and lay them on a plate lined with kitchen paper to soak up any excess oil.
- Prepare the dip by adding the Greek yogurt, honey and ground cumin together and stirring. Serve it with warm kolokithokeftedes.
Notes
*Adding salt to grated zucchini helps extract more water from it, making the fritters softer. However if you want to avoid salt, you can either rinse the salt off before draining the zucchini. Or you can omit the salt entirely and just drain it after standing for 10 minutes. The kolokithokeftedes will still be delicious.