Kolokythokefetdes – Courgette Fritters
2 medium sized courgettes
I small red onion
2-3 tabs chopped parsley
1 tab chopped dill
A small sprinkle of dried mint
1 egg, beaten
1-2 tabs plain flour.
Salt
Ground black pepper
Optional – a small cube of crumbled feta.
Olive oil or sunflower oil
Grate the courgettes with a coarse grater into a colander, sprinkle with a little salt and leave to drain for 5 – 10 minutes.
Grate or finely chop the onion into a medium sized mixing bowl.
Take the grated courgette, and squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible. Either do this with your hands or with a clean tea towel. Put the squeezed courgette in the bowl with the onion.
Add the chopped parsley, dill and mint. You can experiment a bit with this. I would recommend that parsley is always included but see if you prefer the addition of both dill and mint – I do.
Mix in the beaten egg and season with salt and pepper. Go cautiously with the salt, as you have already added salt in the initial stage – about 1/2 tsp should be more than enough. If you choose to put in the small piece of crumbled feta, you will need less salt.
Stir in 1 tablespoonful of plain flour and mix well. You want the mixture to have a fairly thick consistency – depending on how much moisture is still in the courgettes, you may need to add a little more flour.
Now, in a frying pan heat up about 150ml olive oil – you can use sunflower oil or even a mix of the two oils.
Test to see if the oil is hot enough by dropping in a small amount of the courgette mixture. It should sizzle immediately but not be so hot that it burns.
Now drop into the hot oil desert spoonfuls of the mixture and fry them over a moderate heat until they have started to set. Carefully, flip them over and fry gently on the other side. You need to have the oil hot enough to cook the fritters, without burning. Once they are firm, you can turn them over again to ensure that they cook properly.
Serve straight from the pan or at room temperature.