Prep 15 cook 10 min
Lightly battered zucchini slices served with a garlicky yoghurt sauce is a quick and easy side dish or pre-dinner nibbles.
Among the many things I miss about living in or traveling to Mediterranean countries is the concept of the Mezze. Nothing conjures up long, lazy summer lunches as a Mezze does, slowly picking at an abundant variety of little dishes while contemplating the secrets of the universe.
Proper, full Mezzes are time consuming to prepare but picking some of the dishes in isolation can provide you with a delightful side dish or appetizer and this is a good example.
Lightly battered zucchini slices served with a garlicky yoghurt sauce is a quick and simple way to capture that Meze mood but here are few tips to make that happen.
The key to nice, crisp zucchini chips is ensuring that your zucchini are sliced as thinly as possible. You can use a mandolin but a sharp knife and a steady hand will work just as well.
Another important factor for delicious chips is to ensure that the oil is hot enough so that it only takes a couple of minutes per side to obtain a nice, golden colour on your zucchini. The best way to test the temperature of the oil is to simply slip one sacrificial zucchini slice into the oil and when it starts to bubble up, your oil is hot enough to fry with.
The batter for these zucchini chips is relatively runny. After you coat each zucchini slice in the batter, wipe it along the side of your bowl to remove the excess. You want a very thin layer of batter on each zucchini piece; this will lead to a lighter chip.
You may find that as your chips are cooking, even if you do not crowd your frying pan, your zucchini chips will stick together. Gently tease them apart using tongs and a fork, or two forks.
Allow the chips to rest for a few minutes on a paper towel, so that any remaining excess grease is soaked up.
Serve while they are still hot and crispy with a yoghurt sauce and pick away.
If you want to make a Middle Eastern version of this recipe, serve it with a Tahini sauce instead of yoghurt. See recipe.
Greek Zucchini Fritters
by
Derek Farwagi
Ingredients
- 1 Medium to large zucchini
- 1 cup All-puprose flour
- 1 ¼ cups Water
- 1 tspn Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 1 cup Vegetable oil
For the yoghurt sauce
- ¾ cup Plain yoghurt
- 2 Garlic cloves, crushed
- Enough water to give the yoghurt the consistency of thick cream.
- Salt to taste.
- A sprinkle of any fresh or dried herb you have.
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the flour, water, salt, pepper and greek oregano. Mix until combined. You should end up with a batter which is relatively runny, so that the batter very lightly coats your zucchini rounds.
- Pour enough oil into the frying pan so that it comes 1/2 to 3/4 inches up the side of the frying pan. Heat over medium / high heat.
- Take your zucchini slices, and coat each one individually with the batter. Prior to adding to the oil, wipe the zucchini slice against the side of the bowl to ensure that any excess batter is removed.
- Carefully place one zucchini slice (battered) into the oil. When it starts to sizzle, your oil is hot enough. Add more zucchini rounds to your pan, being careful not to overcrowd them.
- Cook on one side for a minute or so, until they are golden brown. Using tongs or a fork, carefully flip the rounds over and cook on the opposite side for another minute or two, until golden brown.
- Lift each chip out of the pan one by one, allowing any excess oil to pour off into the pan. Allow to cool slightly on a paper towel lined dish. At this point you can sprinkle some additional salt on them.
For the yoghurt sauce
- Mix the yoghurt with a little water until you have the consistency of thick cream.
- Add the crushed garlic and salt to taste. A twist of lemon adds a little freshness.
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