Last weekend I hosted a birthday dinner celebration for two friends who are hitting “milestone” birthdays this spring. I love a themed menu, so based on the amount of mint and oregano in my herb garden and the two legs of lamb in my freezer, knew that it was going to be Greek.The first time I had tomato fritters was in Santorini, sitting in a cliffside restaurant for lunch with my husband and friends, sipping a nice chilled white wine, enjoying the spectacular view. I’ve wanted to recreate a tomato fritter recipe ever since, and fortunately, it’s easy. Just dice the tomatoes fine and shred the zucchini and onion, then mix with flour and minced herbs. I actually used about 2 parts parsley to 1 part mint and 1 part basil, but you can adjust based on what you have growing or on hand.You’ll want to heat about an inch of canola or peanut oil in a large skillet over about medium high heat. You’ll know the oil is ready when you drop a small piece of the batter into it and it starts sizzling right away. But be careful, you want a gentle sizzle so the insides of the tomato fritters cook before the outside gets too dark. I find it easier to use a small ice cream scoop (1 tablespoon size) to plop the batter into the pan instead of a spoon. It should take about 5 minutes on each side for them to cook until perfectly golden.Drain the cooked fritters on a paper towel and if you are serving right away, sprinkle them with some salt.Now if you’re like me, you won’t want to be frying food right as your guests arrive for a party. Simply cook up the tomato fritters that morning or even the day before and store them in the refrigerator after they have cooled on the paper towels. Then when it’s party time, spread them onto a foil lined baking sheet and reheat at 350 degrees until they are heated through and sizzling a bit in the oven, about 10 minutes. I served these on the patio with a quick dipping sauce made from some Greek yogurt with a good amount of minced mint stirred into it. And I kid you not, my otherwise respectable guests were fighting each other to get to them!
Here’s the full party menu:
Tomato and Zucchini Fritters with Minted Yogurt Sauce (domatokeftethes)
Lemon and Egg Soup with Rice (avgolemono)
Greek Salad with Feta Cheese
Stuffed Leg of Lamb (recipe coming soon!)
Spinach Pie
Roasted Potatoes
Chocolate and Lemon-Lime Tarts with Raspberries
- 4 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2 medium zucchini, grated
- 1 medium onion, grated
- 1½ cups self-rising flour
- ½ bunch parsley, finely chopped
- ½ bunch mint, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
- canola oil, for frying
- Combine all ingredients except flour in a bowl, then add enough flour to make a thick fritter batter (it may take closer to 2 cups). Heat ½ to 1 inch of oil in a nonstick skillet and drop batter into hot oil by the tablespoonfuls. Fry until brown, turn and cook until browned on the other side. Drain on paper towels and season with salt while hot. Serve with yogurt mint dipping sauce if desired.