From the Castle Kitchen: High-Fiber Oat Flour Zucchini Fritters (Kolokithokeftedes)

By: Jamie Patterson Chojnacki

Enjoy zucchini fritters with tangy tahini sauce or cool tzatziki

Savoury pan-fried zucchini fritters, better known as Kolokithokeftedes in Greece, are always a hit.

My friend, private chef and culinary consultant Christos, makes incredible Kolokithokeftedes and I single-handedly hold him responsible for my resulting addiction. As such, when I visit Greece, one of my first goals after debarring the plane is to meet him at his latest restaurant, grab a plate of tasty zucchini-business, and start talking everything-food (menus, restaurant concepts, books, shows…) while I stuff my face.

Since I can’t get to Greece and sit down with Christos as often as I would like, I decided to make these back in the castle kitchen. As many of our guests appreciate delicious gluten and dairy-free options, I made some deviations from the classic approach - ditching both the feta and wheat-flour.

The result is savoury and satisfying. Not only are they delicious, they are much higher in fiber, and nearly guilt-free (a little pan frying never hurt anybody, right?).

But there is a little secret to these - the flavour is in the herbs. So, do not think twice about adding them - especially the mint - hich was Christos’ tip to me years ago. It makes all the difference.

Easy Pan-Fried Zucchini Fritters (Kolokithokeftedes)

with a dollop tahini sauce and lemon zest

Yields 6 medium patties, or 10-12 small (ideal as appetisers)

Potato Patties

• 4 zucchinis, grated

• 1 bunch of green onion, chopped

• 2/3 cups ( 75g) oat flour (I used a coffee grinder to make mine from rolled oats)

• 2 free-range, bio-eggs, whisked

• 2 pinches of dried mint, we use a bio mountain variety from Greco products

• 1 pinch of dried oregano, we use a bio mountain variety from Greco products

• 1 pinch of sea salt, we used Maldon flakes

• fresh cracked pepper

+ sea salt to help draw out the moisture in the zucchinis

+ olive oil for frying pan

Garnish

• dollop of tahini sauce

• bio lemon, zested

• pomegranate (optional)

• fresh herbs, or lettuce, we used cilantro (optional)

• lemon wedge or slice (optional)

Zucchinis have a lot of excess water, more than potatoes. You will need to drain them extra-well to prevent them from falling apart in the pan. For this reason, we place them in a medium bowl, salt them, and set aside for up to 30 minutes. This provides enough time to make the Tahini Sauce while waiting for the salt to draw out the moisture within the zucchinis.

After around 30 minutes, you will need two more bowls, the first with a colander in it (for squeezing zucchini over and catching bits that getaway), and another for the handfuls of wrung-out zucchini.

Start by squeezing the zucchinis by hand in small batches, multiple times each over the colander. You will extract about 150 ml or more of zucchini-water at the end of the process as well as much of the salt used.

Add the green onion, eggs, oat flower, dried herb (fresh would also work), sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper to the zucchinis. Stir to combine.

Add olive-oil to a heavy-bottomed until thoroughly coated (several tablespoons) and heat on medium-high (for us, this is 7). Beside the stove, place paper towel on a tray to wick-up excess oil after frying.

Scoop zucchini mix with soup spoon, dollop into skillet and flatten with back of spoon. Cook for about two and a half minutes per side. You can use the back of a spatula to press down on them (until about 1 cm or ½ inch thick) after the first minute or so of cooking.

Place onto tray with towel and let cool for 5 minutes.

When ready to serve, dollop tahini on a plate and spread it out with the back of the spoon. Garnish with fresh herbs, or place leaves of lettuce between the fritters as you set them on top the plate. If you like, add pomegranate seeds, freshly grated lemon zest, and a lemon slice. Adding fresh squeezed lemon juice over top of the zucchini fritters will brighten the dish.

Kalo Orexi (Greek for ‘Bon Appetite’)!

Do you love zucchini fritters as much as we do? Let us know in the comments below.