Another big Greek word and another Greek dish.
Don't let the unpronounceable name of this dish put you off. If you have excess zucchini laying around make them immediately!
”Keftedes” are the Greek word for meatballs however there is no meat in today's recipe.
For simplicity's sake let’s just call them zucchini fritters.
I’ll be completely honest here and say that I have never made these zucchini fritters before. I enjoyed them a few times growing up and mostly ordered them at restaurants when I was visiting Greece.
I’m happy to say I’ve made these twice now and I'm delighted at how they turned out.
When I was researching kolokithokeftedes I came across Peter from Kalofagas’s recipe on Google.
I was specifically drawn to his recipe because he baked these in the oven rather than lightly fry them on the stovetop.
I must admit, initially I was skeptical that these would hold their shape.
However, these turned out fantastic! Thank you Peter!
Making Zucchini Fritters Gluten Free
I’ve modified the recipe a little in that I did not use any breadcrumbs in the mixture. I wanted to make these zucchini fritters gluten free and substituted almond meal or almond flour. Again, they held their shape beautifully. (the dough was slighlty "wetter" but still good).
If you plan on making these zucchini fritters, don’t skimp on the herbs. Going by the recipe I used fresh parsley, dill and mint. I added a little extra dill because I love dill. I encourage you to play around with the ratios and find the right combination that suits your palate.
The feta gives them that wonderful cheesy, salty goodness. Use the good stuff If you you can!
I accompanied our little soirée with a tomato and feta salad, dressed in olive oil and dried Greek oregano and served the zucchini fritters with a ”herby” Greek yoghurt mixture.
Brunch, lunch or dinner-you’ve got to make these!
Baked Zucchini Fritters Kolokithokeftedes
Ingredients
- 3 zucchini, grated and squeezed of excess water
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon dill, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon mint, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
- ¾ cup almond meal
- 100 grams feta cheese, crumbled
- 50 grams Pecorino, grated
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 200 deg C.
- In a small pan, saute the finely diced onion and garlic in a little olive oil until it becomes translucent. Set aside to cool. Once the onion/garlic mixture has cooled add it with ALL THE INGREDIENTS in a large bowl.
- Using your hands combine the fritters mixture thoroughly. If you find that it's still a little wet add ¼ cup extra almond meal. (Don't be tempted to add too much)
- Form the mixture into small patties (grab a little in your hand and then flatten them out slightly) and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Brush the tops of the fritters with a little olive oil and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Take them out and using a spatula, carefully flip them over, brush the tops again with olive oil and finish cooking them for another 10 minutes.
- Once cooked allow them to cool slightly and serve them with a salad and some Greek yoghurt or tzatziki.
Notes
- It's important to squeeze the excess water out of the grated zucchini-once grated you can sprinkle it with sea salt and leave it for a few hours.
- If you're short on time- just grate it and squeeze as much as you can
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Souvlaki For the Soul
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