Turkish Zucchini Fritters

I am a collector of recipes and not only do I have over a thousand cookbooks, (yes, that many!) I tear out recipes from newspapers and magazines, then, categorize them into the appropriate notebooks.    This recipe, which uses zucchini, caught my eye yesterday as I was perusing through the Pacific Northwest magazine in our Sunday newspaper.

I remember the first time I helped my grandparents plant zucchini in the garden.  They had me make mounds down the rows, then, plant 3-4 seeds in each one.  My Grandfather said, "that's to make sure we get at least one plant coming up."  However, more times than not, we had to pull up the extra seedlings.  Anyway, can you imagine how many zucchinis a fifty-yard row yields?  A LOT!  We had zucchini sauteed with onions, stuffed, pickled, and baked into many, many loaves of bread.  Over the years, I've become somewhat obsessed when I find a zucchini recipe and save it for when the abundant season comes my way.

I no longer have a vegetable garden, but do have access to the Farmer's Market and can load up on these dark green gems during the summer.  This recipe has the addition of crumbled feta cheese (a typical cheese from the Mediterranean area) along with some herbs, which was different from the the previous recipes I have for Zucchini Fritters and/or Pancakes.  If it's any indication of how they tasted, my DH said, "best fritters ever!!"

Turkish Zucchini Fritters (Mucver)

For Fritters:

1 1/2 pounds zucchini (about 4 medium) grated

Salt to taste

3 eggs

1/4 cup finely chopped herbs (flat-leaf parsley, dill, mint)

1 bunch green onions, white and light green parts, finely chopped

1 T paprika

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup olive oil or as needed for frying

Place grated zucchini in a colander.  Sprinkle generously with salt and let sit for 10 minutes to draw out the water.  

Squeeze handfuls of the zucchini to extract as much liquid as possible.

Place the drained zucchini in a large bowl and mix in the eggs, herbs, onions, paprika and pepper until well combined.  Add the flour and stir until just incorporated, then, stir in the feta cheese.

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Drop generous spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil, making sure the fritters don't touch.  Flatten them slightly so they're about 1/2-inch thick and fry them until golden brown on each side, 4 to 5 minutes.  Drain on paper towels and repeat until all the batter is used.  Serve hot, topped with the yogurt sauce.

Yogurt Sauce:

2 cups plain yogurt

2 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed to a paste

Salt to taste

Blend the yogurt and garlic and salt to taste.  Cover and refrigerate at least 15 minutes for the flavors to blend.

These fritters are a wonderful addition to the many recipes I have using zucchini.  And, along with fresh corn on the cob, our summer dinner was perfect.   Thanks to Melissa Kronenthal, a freelance food writer and photographer, for this recipe that is a "keeper."  Enjoy!