Greek Zucchini Fritters Kolokithokeftedes Recipe 445

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.

Steps:

• Shred zucchini into a colander and sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons salt. Allow to drain over the sink for 20 minutes.
• At the same time, mix water and flaxseed meal together until completely combined. Set aside and allow mixture to sit for about 10 minutes.
• Squeeze out liquid from onions and potatoes by wringing them in a clean tea towel over the sink. Set aside.
• Combine bread crumbs, mint, dill, parsley, lemon zest, pepper, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add flaxseed meal mixture and mix to combine.
• Rinse shredded zucchini very lightly and ring out any liquid in a tea towel. Add zucchini, shredded onion, potato, and carrot to the bread crumb mixture and combine. Add flour and baking powder and combine everything once more with your hands. Set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes on the counter, or up to 3 days, covered in the refrigerator.
• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a shallow frying pan over medium heat, making sure the oil doesn't burn.
• Scoop zucchini mixture in 1/3-cup portions and roll into balls your hands. Working in batches, add balls to the hot oil and gently pat into a patty. Cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes; flip and continue to fry until crispy and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining balls, adding 2 tablespoons more oil to the pan between each batch. Serve.