Courgette and Feta Fritters

These protein-packed patties are a filling, tasty treat which make a great centrepiece to an SP meal. The combination of fresh sweet courgette, gently spiced rich batter and salty feta combine to make these rather moreish. They work brilliantly hot, alongside a pulse-rich curry dish or cold as a picnic lunch alongside a range of tasty salads. 

I served mine hot on raw baby spinach leaves tossed in lemon juice, topped with a raita sauce of

quark, lemon juice and chopped mint. I accompanied it with a rather kitsch and vibrant beetroot and chickpea salad - which I made from blended pickled beetroot, fresh mint, quark and seasalt with a drained tin of chickpeas stirred through it. Maybe a bit bold for some tastes but I like a colourful plateful!

This recipe does include some syns, due to the self-raising flour, but I would recommend budgetting for the day to allow for these as they do feel like a real treat. They are especially useful if they mean you avoid potentially syn-packed snacks or treats as an alternative. I experimented with doing this without flour, but personally found they didn't stay together as I'd hoped. If you wished to make these gluten-free you could use gram (chick-pea) flour.

As with all recipes and meal plans on the blog I have highlighted the protein sources (P foods) in red, the speed (S) foods in green, healthy extra allowances in blue and syns, with syn values in brackets in orange.  

Courgette and Feta Fritters

Serves 2 - 2 syns and 1/3 of your HEA allowance for the day per portion

3 medium sized courgettes

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, finely sliced

1/2 red chilli very finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

Handful of fresh parsely, finely chopped

Handful of fresh mint, finely chopped

Handful of fresh rocket, finely chopped

2 eggs

2 tbsp self-raising flour - 4 syns

1 tsp mild curry powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric 

Spray oil

40g light feta, chopped into very small cubes

Pre-heat an oven to 180 degrees fan / 200 electric / Gas mark 6.

On a clean tea-towel, grate the courgettes with a box grater. 

Once grated gather the shredded courgette into the centre of the towel, grind over some seasalt, gather the edges to form a pouch with the courgette inside and carry to a sink.

Squeeze the towel repeatedly to remove as much moisture from the courgettes as possible. Once there is a minimal amount of liquid coming from the towel, leave in the sink to continue draining away. 

Heat some spray oil in a frying pan and add the finely chopped onion, sliced onion, chilli and garlic. Allow this to fry for a moment until the onion starts to brown then put aside to cool slightly.

In a bowl, sieve in the flour and dried spices and blend them carefully. 

Beat in the two eggs, using a balloon whisk, then add the fresh herbs and the courgettes. Mix thoroughly until all the courgette is coated. 

Add the contents of the frying pan and the feta, mixing carefully and allow it to stand for a few moments. 

Meanwhile, wipe out the cooled frying pan with a sheet or two of kitchen paper to reduce smoking when cooking the fritters. 

Apply some further sprays of spray oil to the pan and allow it to heat through. 

Carefully spoon out mixture into the pan and flatten the mound slightly with the back of the spoon. Aim for a thickness of between 1 and 2 cm in depth and try to keep the size to no bigger than the fish-slice / spatula you use. If you spread too thin, they are harder to turn but too thick and the mixture stays too moist in the middle. 

After about 5 minutes, check if the bottom of the fritters are browning - you can do this by lifting one up on a slotted fish-slice or spatula and peep through the gaps to check. 

Carefully lift and flip the fritters over noting that any exposed feta may melt slightly in contact with the pan so make sure it doesn't get left behind! 

Once they are browned on both sides, lift them from the pan carefully and transfer to an oven-proof tray and bake for 10 - 15 minutes. 

If not serving immediately, place these on a cooling rack as they tend to go a little soggy on the bottom if left in the hot oven tray.