Recipe of the Week: Kolokithokeftedes (Zucchini Fritters) with Tzatziki
Hi Everyone
Today I cooked for the family today. It was a mixture of different cultures: Greek & Italian
Theo and I spent the morning collecting all our farm fresh ingredients at the weekly giant farmer's market. It is Theo's favorite place to be.....he walks the market like a local, talking to the people (at least answering their questions about how cute he is, what's your name, sweet boy, etc etc etc) and he pulls the market cart, weaving in and out of tons of people, directing me to the vendors with the best produce (fruits & veggies). We went, we bought, we enjoyed so much the fruits of our labors.....did I mention that I went to bed at 3:00am the night before and had Theo's gentle little hands poking me awake at 8:00am saying "Mommy, remember we are going to Laiki (farmer's market in greek)......my response, give me 5 more minutes and yes we are going!" He waited patiently and quietly, which for this kid is a major accomplishment! He dressed himself, got himself a yogurt and waited for me at the door with the market cart!! What a great way to spend the morning with my little boy!!!! Priceless!!
Our Menu for Saturday's Lunch/Dinner
Cheese Tortellini with Tomato Pecorino Sauce
Val's Giant Baked & Gluten Free Meatballs
Tri Colore Tomato & Arugula Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella - all from market
Kolokithokeftedes (Zucchini Fritters/Pancakes) - all from market
Fresh Cooked Beets - all from market
The recipe of the week are Kolokithokeftedes which are tasty Zucchini Fritters/Pancakes. You can fry them up in lots of oil, you can pan fry them in less oil, or you can flat grill for the least amount of oil usage. Any of the ways yield super tasty treats but I went for the healthy version - the least amount of oil. In my outdoor kitchen I have this wonderful flat grill, perfect for these fritters and pancakes!! I sooooooooooo wish I had one in my kitchen at home!!!!
Here is the recipe. It is for two portions, which will yield 4-6 fritters. I made four patches and it made about 25 fritters. So easy and they cook up in about the same amount of time as pancakes, maybe adding 2-3 minutes!!
Zucchini Fritters for Two
1 large zucchini, coarsely grated
Kosher salt (less than 1/2 teaspoon)
Ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1 scallion, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
Grate zucchini and salt it. Best thing to use is the old fashion triangle cheese grater. Get all moisture out by pressing zucchini between paper towels. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl, and add zucchini. Stir well. Heat olive oil in skillet. Divide mixture into four "pancakes". Press with spatula. Cook until browned on one side, and flip fritters. Cook other side. Drain fritters on paper towels before serving.
One change I would make to the recipe now that I've made them.......in the squeezing/pressing of the zucchini in the paper towel, I would do so much more more more sqeezing and I would even lay out the grated zucchini on paper towels and let paper towel further soak up moisture and drain itself of water. It will make for dryer, less mushy fritters. In my case today, since I noticed they were a little more wet than I think they were supposed to be, I added a bit more flour and I left them on grill for a little bit longer at a lower temperature to help them dry out a bit. The other change, since I am 100% gluten free, at home I will swap out plain flour for a GF version and I'm sure the result will be just as tasty.
Kids loved them!! They are like healthy little pancakes. You can put them with the Greek Tzatziki sauce or any dip your kids or grownups prefer for dipping! Or just straight which I would prefer. You can cook up a whole large batch, make small size ones for kids for school!!
Enjoy, we sure did! Great lazy Saturday of farmer's market in the morning, cooking from 11-3, lunch/dinner at 3pm, beach from 4-7, snack at 8, movie from 8-10:30pm, bedtime for kids at 10:30!! What a great day!!!!
Hugs XOXOX ~ Valeria
Today I cooked for the family today. It was a mixture of different cultures: Greek & Italian
Theo and I spent the morning collecting all our farm fresh ingredients at the weekly giant farmer's market. It is Theo's favorite place to be.....he walks the market like a local, talking to the people (at least answering their questions about how cute he is, what's your name, sweet boy, etc etc etc) and he pulls the market cart, weaving in and out of tons of people, directing me to the vendors with the best produce (fruits & veggies). We went, we bought, we enjoyed so much the fruits of our labors.....did I mention that I went to bed at 3:00am the night before and had Theo's gentle little hands poking me awake at 8:00am saying "Mommy, remember we are going to Laiki (farmer's market in greek)......my response, give me 5 more minutes and yes we are going!" He waited patiently and quietly, which for this kid is a major accomplishment! He dressed himself, got himself a yogurt and waited for me at the door with the market cart!! What a great way to spend the morning with my little boy!!!! Priceless!!
Our Menu for Saturday's Lunch/Dinner
Cheese Tortellini with Tomato Pecorino Sauce
Val's Giant Baked & Gluten Free Meatballs
Tri Colore Tomato & Arugula Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella - all from market
Kolokithokeftedes (Zucchini Fritters/Pancakes) - all from market
Fresh Cooked Beets - all from market
The recipe of the week are Kolokithokeftedes which are tasty Zucchini Fritters/Pancakes. You can fry them up in lots of oil, you can pan fry them in less oil, or you can flat grill for the least amount of oil usage. Any of the ways yield super tasty treats but I went for the healthy version - the least amount of oil. In my outdoor kitchen I have this wonderful flat grill, perfect for these fritters and pancakes!! I sooooooooooo wish I had one in my kitchen at home!!!!
Here is the recipe. It is for two portions, which will yield 4-6 fritters. I made four patches and it made about 25 fritters. So easy and they cook up in about the same amount of time as pancakes, maybe adding 2-3 minutes!!
Zucchini Fritters for Two
1 large zucchini, coarsely grated
Kosher salt (less than 1/2 teaspoon)
Ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1 scallion, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
Grate zucchini and salt it. Best thing to use is the old fashion triangle cheese grater. Get all moisture out by pressing zucchini between paper towels. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl, and add zucchini. Stir well. Heat olive oil in skillet. Divide mixture into four "pancakes". Press with spatula. Cook until browned on one side, and flip fritters. Cook other side. Drain fritters on paper towels before serving.
One change I would make to the recipe now that I've made them.......in the squeezing/pressing of the zucchini in the paper towel, I would do so much more more more sqeezing and I would even lay out the grated zucchini on paper towels and let paper towel further soak up moisture and drain itself of water. It will make for dryer, less mushy fritters. In my case today, since I noticed they were a little more wet than I think they were supposed to be, I added a bit more flour and I left them on grill for a little bit longer at a lower temperature to help them dry out a bit. The other change, since I am 100% gluten free, at home I will swap out plain flour for a GF version and I'm sure the result will be just as tasty.
Kids loved them!! They are like healthy little pancakes. You can put them with the Greek Tzatziki sauce or any dip your kids or grownups prefer for dipping! Or just straight which I would prefer. You can cook up a whole large batch, make small size ones for kids for school!!
Enjoy, we sure did! Great lazy Saturday of farmer's market in the morning, cooking from 11-3, lunch/dinner at 3pm, beach from 4-7, snack at 8, movie from 8-10:30pm, bedtime for kids at 10:30!! What a great day!!!!
Hugs XOXOX ~ Valeria
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