Vegetarian mains
Courgette and feta fritters with tomato salsa
These light, delicious courgette fritters are best when you resist eating them straight out of the pan and let them cool to room temperature. They're good as a summer lunch, a picnic, a packed lunch or an appetiser. Fresh, herby tomato salsa makes a lovely addition. July and August are the ideal months to make these, when courgettes are plentiful.
Ingredients
for the salsa
- 500g tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- squeeze lemon juice or 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- handful fresh coriander, chopped
- 1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
for the fritters
- 3-4 courgettes, about 600g, coarsely grated
- 100g self raising flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3 spring onions, finely chopped
- 150g feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp dill or coriander, finely chopped
- ½ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
- oil for frying e.g. vegetable or sunflower
- salt and pepper
Method
To make the salsa
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Step 1
combine all the ingredients in a bowl and leave to one side until the fritters are ready to serve.
To make the fritters
-
Step 1
put the grated courgette on a plate lined with several layers of kitchen roll or a clean tea towel and sprinkle with salt. Leave for 10 minutes. Using a second tea towel or more kitchen roll, press and squeeze the courgette to take out as much liquid as possible. Keep going until the courgette is as dry as possible.
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Step 2
Put the courgette into a mixing bowl. Add the flour and eggs and mix well. Add the spring onions, feta, garlic, herbs, chilli if using and seasoning (go easy on the salt as you have already salted the courgettes) and mix once more.
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Step 3
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Carefully drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil, using about 2 tablespoons of batter for each fritter and patting them down so they flatten slightly in the pan. Fry gently until golden brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm until all the fritters are ready.