Zucchini fritters with dill

These little zucchini fritters are a very popular mezze dish in Turkey, and are often served at room temperature. They also make a great family supper, hot and crisp from the pan and served with lemon wedges and a yoghurt-based sauce. Better still, they are a great way of using what otherwise can be a rather dull vegetable.

• makes

  16

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 600 g zucchini
• sea salt
• 1 small onion, grated
• 1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
• 100 g fetta, crumbled
• ¼ cup finely chopped dill
• 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 75 g (½ cup) plain flour
• 2 tbsp rice flour
• freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil

Standing time: 20 minutes

Instructions

Coarsely grate the zucchini and put into a colander. Sprinkle lightly with salt and toss, then stand for 20 minutes to drain. Rinse the zucchini briefly, then squeeze it to extract as much liquid as you can. Pat dry with paper towel.

Mix the zucchini with the onion, garlic, fetta, herbs and egg in a large bowl. Sift on the flours, then season with pepper and stir to combine.

Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat until sizzling. Drop small tablespoons of batter into the hot oil and flatten gently. Cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve piping hot.

Recipe from Turquiose by Greg and Lucy Malouf, with photographs by Lisa Cohen and William Meppem. Published by Hardie Grant Books.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.