Zucchini and Sumac Fritters With Tomato and Mint Salsa

Submitted by bluemoon downunder

"These fritters could be served as appetizers, as a side dish or as one of several vegetarian dishes. It's the closest recipe I've found for some delicious zucchini fritters I ate and loved some years ago, though I'm pretty sure that they didn't have sumac in them, and sumac adds a lot of flavour. When I inquired after the recipe at the time, the Greek woman who'd made them she named the key ingredients but was very dismissive of them. I felt as if to her it was if I'd asked how to make something as simple as say a basic bread and butter sandwich with a slice of cheese in it! This recipe is from the Australian Women's Weekly's 'fresh food fast: delicious no fuss healthy recipes'. Australian brown onions are what Americans call yellow onions. Sumac, if you've not used it is defined (in the same recipe book) as "a purple-red astringent spice ground from berries that grow on shrubs that flourish wild around the Mediterranean; has a tart, lemony flavour. Found in Middle-Eastern food stores. Substitute: 1/8 teaspoon five-spice plus 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper plus 1/8 teaspoon all spice equals 3/4 teaspoon sumac". I've found that I can purchase it readily from more upmarket supermarkets and European delicatessens."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 6 medium zucchini, coarsely grated
• 1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
• 295.73 ml stale breadcrumbs, processed
• 3 eggs
• 29.58 ml fresh oregano, finely chopped
• 4.92 ml sumac
• 29.58 ml olive oil
• 3 medium tomatoes, seeded, finely chopped
• 59.14 ml of fresh mint, coarsely chopped
• 118.29 ml Greek yogurt

directions

1. Squeeze the excess liquid from the zucchini using absorbent paper until it is as dry as possible or literally squeeze-dry a handful at a time in your hand; combine the zucchini in a medium-sized bowl with the onion, breadcrumbs, eggs, oregano and sumac.
2. Heat the oil in a large, preferably non-stick pan; drop rounded tablespoons of the zucchini mixture in batches, into the pan; cook until browned on both sides and cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, combine the tomato and mint in a small bowl; serve the fritters with the tomato and mint salad, accompanied by yoghurt.

Reviews

[Mirj2338]

I made these for a party a few weeks ago and they were an absolute hit. The vegetarians in our group couldn't stop noshing on these babies, but the meat eaters were also giving them a run for their money. I didn't serve them with yogurt, and they were just fine on their own. Great recipe, they are going to be a staple side on my table! Thanks!

 

[Bridget C]

Very good and easy. We have a wee glut of courgettes at the moment and had these as a light lunch - without the salsa though. I just mixed in a bit more sumac (I love the stuff) with greek yogurt and used that to dip the fritters in.

 

[MarraMamba]

I really really enjoyed these, the sumac gave a neat taste to them!

 

[PalatablePastime]

This is really an interesting recipe! I like the idea of making the zucchini into fritters to be used for an appetizer. Unfortunately, my fritters came out kind of thin and didn't hold up well with the salsa put on top of them. The salsa also was a bit heavy on the mint for me. The mint overpowered just about every other flavor. I will definitely cut that back next time, and do some tinkering to get the fritters to be more firm. I think I would also like to serve this with lamb, since it goes well with the seasoning flavors in the recipe. Thanks for sharing! ~Sue

 

[Sharon123]

I scaled the recipe down for one large zucchini. This was a nice, easy recipe and I enjoyed it for dinner. Thanks!