Being a avid gardener and being Greek go hand in hand with our summer cooking! Why? Because everything is around the tomato! We actually wait until summer for the perfect summer dish. A few of my favorite dishes are, Greek Tomato Fritters, Greek Feta Salad, and our Tomato Egg Scramble for breakfast. They can be made and served with other small bites called “Meze”, traditional Greek family favorites. It’s as simple as this, garden tomatoes have a deep rich flavor to enhance the notes in your dish, but of course supermarket tomatoes can be used. When shopping for tomatoes look for heirloom, or organic locally grown varieties, such as the plum tomatoes with a thick flesh.

Besides Greek Tomato Fritters, one other dish we enjoy is the zucchini fritter. A summer favorite of ours as they both give us an abundant of produce from our summer garden. Zucchini is a staple in our diet. It can also be stuffed for a main dish or served also as a fritter.

Feta Zucchini Patties

This recipe comes from The Foods of Greece, by author Aglaia Kremezi. An Athens born cookbook writer and photographer. She has taught in culinary institutions and featured in many publications here in America.

Greek Tomato Fritters

This is one of my favorite summer dishes to whip up with a cool Greek yogurt tzatziki sauce. This can be served alone as an appetizer or side dish, or with BBQ Lamb Ribs, Greek Chicken or Lemony Pork Chops. This is meant to be a summer dish that can be served with several other Greek "Meze" on a hot summer day.

Course Appetizer/Side Dish

Cuisine Greek

Keyword CaliforniaGreek, fritters, summer, tomatoes

Ingredients

2 -2½ cups seeded and diced tomatoes (about 3-4), drained. I prefer a plum tomato with more flesh.
1 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup finely chopped parsley
3/4 cup finely chopped scallions
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 ½ cups all purpose flour (1 cup for fritters) 1/2 if more is needed.
1 tablespoon baking powder
extra virgin olive oil for frying
3/4 cups chopped onions
1 garlic clove - minced
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large bowl add the fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, scallions, mint and oregano. Stir until combined.
Add 1 cup flour with the baking soda. Stir gently into the batter. Add a little more flour if necessary for a thickened batter.
In a large skillet heat the olive oil on medium heat, add the onions and garlic and saute until softened. Let cool slightly. Add to the tomato batter and stir together.
Place the cleaned skillet on medium heat, and add new olive oil. Form patties with your hands, and place in the oil to fry 2-3 minutes until golden on both sides and cooked thoroughly.
Remove and place on paper towel lined plate.
Cool and serve with Greek Yogurt Tzatziti. My recipe for sauce can be found on my blog.