Meze #3 Tzatziki needs a Friend... how about Zucchini Fritters?

Welcome to installment #3 for my Meze series. Today it's a step-by-step post on making one of my favorite Meze recipes...

Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki

Remember, Meze is all about small bites, with a harmony of contrasting flavors, temperatures and textures. Zucchini Fritters EXPLODE with flavor, and topping them with Tzatziki... WOW.

And now for a step-by-step demonstration...

First here's the list of ingredients:

• Three zucchinis - pealed and grated
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Three tablespoons of chives minced
• Three tablespoons of dill minced
• Three tablespoons of mint minced
• 1 cup crumbled feta
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup flour
• Vegetable oil or Ghee (clarified butter)

NOTE: You generally don't need added salt since the Feta and the salt left from the leaching is adequate... use your judgement!

The first thing you need to do is place your grated zucchini in a bowl, add the kosher salt and mix. The salt acts as a leaching agent...

Adding Kosher Salt to grated Zucchini

Once your salt has been mixed in, take your mixture and scoop it into a colander and place over the bowl to collect the moisture....

Zucchini in Colander ready to drip

Next, take a smaller bowl that will fit in the colander and begin pressing down on the zucchini to push the liquid out...

Using bowl to press out liquid from Zucchini

Now while Zucchini is leaching, take another bowl and add your feta and minced chives...

Feta and Minced Chives

Then add your dill...

Add Dill

... and mint...

Add Mint

Stir it all up...

Stirring Feta, Chive, Dill and Mint

Once it mixed add the three eggs... 

Add Eggs

And mix it all up.

And now about that Zucchini... I always give it one last squeeze in a linen cloth to get as much moisture out as possible...

Zucchini, leached, squeezed and ready to go

Mix it all up...

Mixing Zucchini into Cheese Mixture

 And the final step - add the flour...

Adding Flour as Final Step

And mix it all up; it should resemble a thick pancake batter when done... be careful not to add to much flour... you don't want them too doughy. 

Final Mix

And now it's time to heat a skillet, add some vegetable oil or Ghee (I always prefer Ghee) and add small spoons full of the batter to the pan to begin cooking (think pancakes)...

Frying Fritters!

Once they are turning golden brown on the edges, it's time to flip...

Aren't they pretty?

And you will have perfect little fritters... 

Zucchini Fritter - Ready!!!

I never do a Meze without these yummy little additions... hope you give them a try... especially with all the zucchini that grows prolifically in the summer season!

Oh, and these would pair fantastically with one of the new wines we plan to add to our Mood Wine Store ... ALBARINO!

Albarino - Spain's most famed white wine

This white wine is dry, crisp, fresh and has nice lemon, pineapple and subtle peaches... plus some white pepper... it is a fantastic wine for bright vibrant dishes like the Zucchini Fritters. It is also considered to be the BEST seafood wine in the world! Added BONUS - this wine is made with organically farmed grapes!

STAY-TUNED: Coming up next - Meze #4 Gramalata with Toasted Panko and Pine Nuts - the perfect savory base for Meze #5 Sage Grilled Chicken Souvlakia.