Greek Zucchini Fritters or Kolokithokeftedes

What do you do when you buy too many delicious looking zucchini and have to use them up before they go bad? I do one of two things – use my beloved non stick grill pan and slice them nice and thin and grill up “zucchini chips” (that’s for another blog post! or make these lovely Greek Zucchini Fritters, otherwise known as Kolokithokeftedes (say that 10 times really fast!)

It’s not the “easiest” or the “fastest” recipe to make, but it’s well worth a little extra effort and it’s simple enough. If you can read, you can make this recipe. I love zucchini steamed, fried, grilled, in bread and now, in fritters. What’s not to love? It’s good for you, adds great flavor to your meal and you’ll be amazed as you watch these yummy fritters get gobbled down in a big hurry. Enjoy!

What you’ll need:
(Printable Recipe)
- 2 medium to large zucchini (coarsely grated)
- 1/2 cup of feta cheese (crumbled)
- 4 green onions (chopped and use the green parts too)
- 3 Tablespoons of fresh mint (finely chopped)
- 2 Tablespoons of fresh dill (finely chopped)*
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 4 Tablespoons of Panko bread crumbs
- salt (Kosher or Sea Salt)
- olive oil

* if you don’t have fresh dill, substitute your favorite fresh herb – such as rosemary or thyme. Use slightly less than the 2 Tablespoons if using an herb other than dill. Basically, use to taste.

What to do:
1. First, wash the zucchini. Then, leaving the skins on, grate them with the coarse side of a grater. Next, put the grated zucchini in a colander and sprinkle liberally with salt (I use a sprinkling of kosher salt). Let the zucchini drain for about 30 minutes while you finish preparing the other ingredients.

2. Remove the zucchini from the colander by the handful and squeeze gently to remove as much liquid as you can. Put the zucchini in a bowl with the herbs, feta cheese and green onions. Mix thoroughly with a fork.

3. Add the lightly beaten egg and stir in to the zucchini mixture.  Next, add the flour and bread crumbs. By this time, the mixture should be wet but not watery. Mix in salt to taste, using Kosher or coarse sea salt.

4. Heat the olive oil in a pan (I love using my All-Clad 12-Inch Round Nonstick Grille Pan because it gives the fritters that nice lined grilled look.) about 1/8 inch deep covering the entire pan. When the oil is hot enough, scoop out a spoonful of the zucchini fritter mixture and put it in the pan. Let it cook about 3-4 minutes or until it starts to get brown and then flip them over. Cook another 3-4 minutes until browned. Remove the fritters and drain on a paper towel-lined plate – this helps to remove some of the excess oil.

Serve hot with Tzatziki.

What you’ll need for Tzatziki (Cucumber Yogurt Dip)
- 2 cups of plain yogurt (or do what I do and use the nice thick Greek yogurt)
- 2 large cucumbers or 3 medium size cucumbers
- 1 1/4 Tablespoon of minced garlic
- 1 Tablespo0n of white vinegar (red wine vinegar gives it a nice flavor too)
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

What to do for Tzatziki:
1. If you don’t want to use Greek yogurt, then, put your regular plain yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined sieve (place over a bowl) and drain overnight or for several hours in the refrigerator. I think this takes too long, so I always use the Greek-style yogurt. It’s much creamier and you don’t have to drain it. Greek yogurt is thicker and does not need the draining.

2. Peel, seed and coarsely grate the cucumbers. Drain well by laying on a paper towel to soak up the moisture.

3. Add the garlic, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to the cucumbers. Mix well. Last, add the yogurt and blend.

You can use Tzatziki as a dip or a sauce. It’s delicious to spoon over the hot Greek Zucchini Fritters. Serve them as a side dish, an appetizer or in my case, for lunch today!

*Many thanks to Whipped the Blog for the beautiful photo and the idea for the recipe.