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A plate with courgette fritters
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5 from 2 votes

Greek Courgette Fritters

Greek Courgette Fritters with feta, or Kolokithokeftedes, a delicious and healthy summer appetizer that is quick and easy to make with fresh seasonal ingredients. The fritters are shallow fried for a crispy texture, and are served with a refreshing tzatziki sauce.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Greek
Servings: 10 fritters
Calories: 77kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 medium courgettes (zucchini)
  • ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 2 spring onions
  • ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoon oil to fry

For the tzatziki sauce

  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • ½ English cucumber

Instructions

  • To make the fritters, grate the courgettes on the coarse side of the grater, add them to a bowl with a pinch of salt, and set aside for 15-20 minutes.
  • Either use you hands or transfer the grated courgettes to a cheesecloth to squeeze out as much liquid as you can, as courgettes have a high water content.
  • Transfer them squeezed courgettes back to the bowl, together with the cheese, egg, black pepper, chopped spring onions and dill, and breadcrumbs.
  • Mix everything together to get a sloppy mixture.
  • Heat up the oil in a non-stick frying pan, and use a tablespoon to get mixture and shape it with your hands into a patty
  • Arrange 4 patties at a time in the frying pan, we don't want to overcrowd the pan.
  • Fry on both sides until golden, that could take 2-3 minutes on each side.
  • Transfer the cooked fritters to a plate lined with kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil.
  • To make the tzatziki, grate the cucumber on the coarse side of the grater, and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
  • Add it to a bowl together with the olive oil, minced garlic and yogurt, and give it a good mix.
  • Serve the fritters with the cold sauce.

Video

Notes

  • My courgette fritters are made with no flour, and although that's an ingredient traditionally used to make these fritters, I find that the flour makes them too tough and rubbery.
  • Plus, using too much flour until you get a thick paste would make them into patties, which are a totally different dish. We want the mixture to be sloppy.
  • Other veggies that could be used in these fritters are: peas, sweetcorn, sweet potatoes, carrots or leeks. While the carrots can be just grated, and the sweetcorn canned, the other ingredients would need to be cooked beforehand.
  • As for herbs, you can also add mint - either fresh or dried for a lovely kick, or fresh or dried parsley. Or, why not, a nice combo of herbs.
  • For an Indian touch, you can also add some earthy spices like cumin, curry powder, chilli or garam masala, I wouldn't use more than a teaspoon for the whole mixture, otherwise it could be too overpowering.

Nutrition

Calories: 77kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 126mg | Potassium: 230mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 217IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 1mg