Appetizers and Snacks, Food, Side Dishes

Dill Zucchini Fritters with Lemon Tzatziki Dip

Loreto August 24, 2015

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I don’t know about you but I love anything fried. I often wonder why God or heaven or whatever you believe created this world would make something so good and be not good for you. I think the rule could be “tastes good, good for you”. I guess like anyone would say everything in moderation.

There is a story that I was told while on a spiritual quest. It was the story of a music teacher teaching a student on the Gange in a small boat. He was telling his student about how to tune a string instrument. The teaching goes something like this: if you tighten the string too much the string will break and the instrument won’t play. If you loosen the string too much again the instrument won’t play, so you have to find that sweet spot where when played it hits you in the heart and floats through your body. I love this story and I don’t think it is only for instruments but for our daily lives finding our balance that sweet spot that makes us emanate happiness because we are truly happy. Which brings me to these lovely Dill Zucchini Fritters with Lemon Tsatsiki Dip.

It is zucchini season, can you tell? They are in abundance, in my parents’ and our neighbour Connie’s garden, so we are handed quite a few of them (thank you!). We already posted our “Tomato, zucchini and leek Galette with herb ricotta“, but more recipes featuring zucchini, both savory and sweet, are yet to come so stay tuned.

Anyway, Nicoletta searched in one of the cookbooks she found in the library “The Messy Baker” by Charmian Christy and she found this appealing recipe for Dill Zucchini Fritters.

These zucchini fritters are delicious, crispy and fried in the open air of our beautiful backyard on the barbecue burner and a hot pan. The insides, soft savory zucchini nicely melded with the batter and airy with the use of baking powder.

To cool the heat a nice fresh tzatziki made with homegrown dill and mint, from our backyard herb box and organic ingredients such as garlic, lemons, and a good organic Greek yogurt, make this a most awesome pairing with the zucchini fritters.

These are great party starters and also a great accompaniment to the main dish. Try them, they are a lot of fun to make, and just imagine being in your back deck or yard with a nice cold drink on a hot day cooking up these zucchini appetizers on your barbecue. Maybe some Beach Boys music playing in the background.

We had a somewhat appetizer night serving the zucchini fritters with herb basted barbecue corn, and some nice seasoned grilled shrimps. Delightful light meal, great for a summer supper.

Dill Zucchini Fritters with Lemon Tzatziki Dip

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 side servings 1x

Ingredients

For the Fritters

2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 small)
¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 large clove garlic
1 large egg, room temperature
6 tablespoons water
1 small onion, chopped very finely
4 ounces feta, crumbled
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, for cooking

For the Lemon Tzatziki

½ cup Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Fresh black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
3 sprigs fresh mint, minced
Zest of ½ lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

Tzatziki: In a medium bowl, stir the yogurt until smooth. Using a microplane, mince the garlic into the yogurt. Add the salt, black pepper, dill, mint, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stir and adjust salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. This can be made ahead of time; it tastes better if allowed to mellow overnight. Tzatziki will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Fritters: Wash and cut zucchini in half lengthwise. If the zucchini is large, slice lengthwise and remove the seeds. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the zucchini and set in a mesh strainer or colander to drain.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cracked pepper, mint and dill leaves with a whisk.
Grate the garlic into a small bowl. Add the egg, lemon zest, lemon juice and water, and beat with a fork to combine. Pour the egg mixture over the flour mixture and stir to combine. Stir in onion, feta and drained zucchini.
In a large non-stick skillet heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, drop ¼ cup of batter into the pan and flatten to ¾? thick. Cook about 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Use more oil as needed.
Serve hot with a dollop of Lemon Tzatziki and fresh ground black pepper.