This is another of my favorite mezedes. Mezes in Greek means tapas, little appetizer. Mezedes is its plural. Now, kolokithokeftedes are made mainly with grated zucchini. I love the flavors coming from this dish and since Autumn is still good with us, I thought of making these as an ode to the departing Summer. This is one of the classic Greek mezedes anyone can find in a tavern. We order them as appetizers along with Greek salad, fried zucchini and eggplants, spanakopita etc. We accompany the dish with tzatziki or melitzanosalata(eggplant salad, I will make one in a later post).
I love them so much, I can eat a whole bunch, even my son loves them and you know how picky children can be, especially with vegetables. Unfortunately, since they are fried, I have to be careful. Anyway, do try them and tell me what you think.
Kolokithokeftedes(Fried Zucchini Balls)
Ingredients
3 spring onions
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 tbsp dried spearmint, if you have fresh use it by all means
1 egg
240 gr. graviera or gruyere cheese which is similar
60 gr. parmigiano (optional, you can use feta, I didn’t have so I used parmigiano)
3 cups zucchini, grated
4 tbsp all purpose flour
4 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp salt
Instructions
Grate the zucchini, add 1 tbsp of salt and let them in the drainer for 1 hour. In the meantime, saute in a skillet the spring onions, the parsley and dill for couple of minutes to soften them a little bit. Squeeze them real tight, so as to extract any water left. Put them in a big bowl and add all the ingredients including the ½ tsp of salt. Knead until all ingredients are incorporated and become kind of a dough.
In another bowl put 1 cup of flour. Take a portion of this “dough” as much as a small lemon, make it a ball and then flatten it with your hands. Flour it and place it in a pan. When you finish them all, take a skillet and add about 2 cups of olive oil.
Place the skillet on medium heat and when the oil is hot add the kolokithokeftedes leaving about a centimeter among them. Fry them until they are golden about a minute or two per side. I served them with tzatziki, but I guess you can serve them with almost anything you like. I will leave it up to you. I am sure you will find the right thing for you.