Summer Fritters & Tzatziki
inspired by New York Times Cooking
Ingredients
Fritters
- 1 cup flour (or more)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon diamond crystal salt
- sprinkle of ground ginger
- pepper
- 1 cup milk, maybe more (I used a mix of whole milk, spoiled 2%, and heavy cream)
- 1 egg
- zest of one lemon
- 1.5 cups of grated carrots (or more)
- 2 cups of grated zucchini (or more)
- 2 scallions, finely chopped (or more)
- some fresh corn (I didn’t do this, but I bet it would be really good! adding it may make the balance of batter to stuff off, so just use your judgment here)
- frying oil of choice (original recipe calls for vegetable oil, we used grapeseed)
Tzatziki
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic, at least
- 1 teaspoon diamond crystal salt
- chopped/ripped mint leaves (the original says a tablespoon but I never measure fresh herbs, I would honestly err on “too much” for this because raw garlic)
- 1 tablespoon EVOO
- diced cucumber (again, the amount is up to you. I would err on more for the same reason as mint but being mindful not to make it too chunky)
Directions
Fritters
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, lemon zest, and pepper.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk until just blended (do not overmix). Batter should be slightly thicker than cream. If it’s too thick, add some milk; if it’s too thin, sprinkle with additional flour.
- Stir in the carrots, zucchini, corn (if using), and scallions and let it rest for 30 minutes (this is a great time to do the tzatziki but not necessary).
- After the 30 minutes is up, fill a wide pan with 1 inch of your frying oil and heat until the temperature registers 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer (or until a small drip of batter browns immediately).
- Line a cookie sheet with paper towels.
- Working in batches, drop battered vegetables by the tablespoon into the oil, being sure not to overcrowd the pan.
- Fry, turning occasionally, until golden all over, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer fritters to the cookie sheet to drain.
- Transfer fritters to a platter or plate and sprinkle with salt to serve.
Tzatziki
- Using a mortar and pestle, the back of a knife, or your fingers (which will smell like garlic for awhile), mash together the garlic and salt.
- In a small bowl, mix together the garlic paste, yogurt, mint, cucumber bits, and the EVOO.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Thoughts
I usually wouldn’t post two recipes in one, but don’t recommend these fritters without the tzatziki. It’s sort of like how I feel about a cake without frosting (most of the time, not worth it). The toasty savory fritter! The creamy yet sharp tzatziki! It’s a satisfying combination that feels even more satisfying because it means I’m using the seemingly-never-ending-supply of zucchini in a new way! These are good for any meal of the day. They reheat well in a toaster oven or even just eaten cold. I never got a chance to pop a fried egg on top for breakfast, but I know it would be fantastic.
I struggled with writing this recipe up, because I didn’t measure most of it. The original recipe suggests “2 large carrots” and “1 large zucchini,” a measurement approach I loathe. I had a bunch of small farm carrots and three small zucchinis so that’s what I did…and I ended up needing to double everything else. It was fine, because we made slightly bigger fritters, but also I think this really is best using a tablespoon to measure out per fritter. It’ll cook faster and get that sear better, which honestly is the best part.