One of the major figures of the Greek revolution against the Turkish domination was Theodore Kolokotronis. He was born in 1770 in a village of Peloponnese. In his age of 10 his father was killed by the Turks and that event marked his entire life. From the age of 15 he entered the “Armatolí” team that was fighting against the Turks.
He became so fearful that in 1802, by the sultan’s ukase, he was sentenced to death but this order was never executed. In the following years and after taking part in the war between Russia and Turkey always on the side of the first, he was persecuted by the Turks. In order to avoid death he goes to Zakynthos where he joins the Greek body of the English army there. He was so good that he was ranked as major.
In 1821 returns to Peloponnese where he starts to prepare the Greek revolution there. During the revolution, he fought with self-denial and he won many battles, some of them very crucial for the outcome of the war. Kolokotronis was a very capable and clever general, who managed his army in an ingenious way. Since the number of Greeks was remarkably lower than that of the Turks, he used the guerilla tactics to be able to win his battles. Also, he gave great emphasis on the destruction of enemy’s food sources.
After the establishment of the Greek State and because of his disagreement with the regent, he went through a trial, was sentenced to death and was imprisoned in Nafplio. In his trial in 1834 Kolokotronis, who was fearless, said to the district attorney regarding the accusations against him: “All these are zucchinis with oregano (meaning stupid words). If you want to continue support them, tell them to somebody else and not to Theodore Kolokotronis.” After king’s coming to age, he was given grace, took the rank of general and became National Consultant. He died in 1843 from ischemic stroke at the age of 73.
This phrase, “zucchinis with oregano” is used even today when we want to underestimate the words of someone or say that someone is saying silly things. This phrase was probably given that meaning, because zucchinis were considered a bit blunt even if you put them some oregano. Of course, nowadays, we have found so many ways to make these little green vegetables very tasty and inviting.
A friend of our family, who has a small vegetable garden, was kind enough to send us some zucchinis. So, I thought of making some fritters. I added feta cheese, cream cheese and fresh dill and they were absolutely delicious. If Kolokotronis ate these fritters, he wouldn’t have used that phrase for sure.
- 400 gr. / 14 oz. zucchini, grated
- 200 gr. / 7 oz. cream cheese
- 100 gr. / 3.5 oz. feta cheese, grated
- 100 gr. / 3.5 oz. any yellow cheese, grated
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 6-7 tbsp all purpose flour ( if the mixture is still watery add the 7th tbsp.)
- Salt, pepper
- For the Breading
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- Olive oil for frying
- Squeeze the zucchinis to remove their extra water.
- In a bowl mix all the ingredients except those of the breading.
- Place the bowl in the freezer for ½ hour.
- Take it out and make small balls.
- Cover them with flour, then with egg and finally with the breadcrumbs.
- Place the balls for ½ hour to an hour in the refrigerator.
- In a deep pot pour olive oil or any other oil you use in medium high heat.
- Start frying the balls in batches, making sure that you don’t add too many, so as to be able to turn them carefully without letting the filling come out.
- Remove, let them rest for three minutes and serve.
- You can serve them with tzatziki or any other sauce.
- I ate them plain as they were so delicious on their own I didn’t need any side for them.
- 400 γρ. κολοκυθάκια, τριμμένα
- 200 γρ. τυρί κρέμα
- 100 γρ. τυρί φέτα, τριμμένη
- 100 γρ. οποιοδήποτε κίτρινο τυρί τριμμένο
- 2 κ.σ. φρέσκο άνηθο, ψιλοκομμένο
- 1 κ.γ. κρεμμύδι σε σκόνη
- ½ κ.γ. σκόνη σκόρδου
- 6-7 κ.σ. αλεύρι για όλες τις χρήσεις ( αν το μίγμα είναι ακόμα υδαρές προσθέστε και την 7η κουταλιά)
- Αλάτι, πιπέρι
- Για το Πανάρισμα
- 2 αυγά, ελαφρώς χτυπημένα
- 1 φλ. αλεύρι
- 1 φλ. φρυγανιά
- Ελαιόλαδο για το τηγάνισμα
- Πιέζετε τα κολοκυθάκια να βγάλουν το επιπλέον νερό.
- Σε ένα μπολ ανακατέψτε όλα τα υλικά εκτός από εκείνα του παναρίσματος.
- Τοποθετήστε το μπολ στο ψυγείο για ½ ώρα.
- Βγάλτε το και να κάντε μικρές μπάλες.
- Σκεπάστε με αλεύρι, μετά με αυγό και τέλος με τη φρυγανιά.
- Τοποθετήστε τις μπάλες για ½ ώρα έως μία ώρα στο ψυγείο.
- Σε μια βαθιά κατσαρόλα ρίξτε το ελαιόλαδο ή οποιοδήποτε άλλο λάδι χρησιμοποιείτε και βάλτε τη στην εστία σε μέση/υψηλή θερμοκρασία.
- Ξεκινήστε το τηγάνισμα βάζοντας τις μπάλες σε παρτίδες.
- Βεβαιωθείτε ότι δεν προσθέτετε πάρα πολλές, ώστε να είστε σε θέση να τις γυρίζετε προσεκτικά χωρίς να βγαίνει η γέμιση.
- Αφήστε να ξεκουραστούν για τρία λεπτά και σερβίρετε.
- Μπορούμε να τα σερβίρουμε με τζατζίκι ή οποιοδήποτε άλλο είδος σάλτσας.
- Εγώ τους έφαγα σκέτους και ήταν τόσο νόστιμοι από μόνοι τους που δεν χρειάστηκε οποιαδήποτε άλλη σάλτσα.
