Zucchini Fritters: Kolokithokeftedes

Why do Greek dishes have such long names? Kolokithokeftedes, that’s insane. Nevertheless, Greeks really can cook – enough said. A week ago, I was looking for a new recipe to cook for this blog and I started typing in different searches into Google. I love watching Barefoot Contessa, so I decided to do a Google search. I clicked on a blog all about these things called zucchini fritters, it was called, "Cooking from the Farms: Zucchini Cook Off" at: http://authorjaneward.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/cooking-from-the-farms-zucchini-cook-off/. They sounded delicious and I had never had them so I started reading. It was very interesting and the pictures were mouthwatering. But, that was not what caught my attention. The author, Jane Ward, mentioned near the beginning, that she received her August/September copy of Saveur magazine and it was “The Greek Issue,” which included many delicious recipes. It was there that she read about zucchini fritters, after having also seen them on a Barefoot Contessa episode. Yet, she said, that the magazine called the recipe “Kolokithokeftedes” which is Greek for zucchini fritters. When I heard that word, or rather read it, it sparked a memory. I suddenly realized that I have had zucchini fritters before, in fact they are one of my favorite foods.

The first time I had this dish, was at my yiayia’s (grandma’s) house in Cyprus, with my cousins Savva and George and my brother Greg. For some reason, and I’m not exactly sure why, but this memory is much more vivid than others near that time. I remember, very clearly, playing a “Crash” game on the PlayStation 2 or 1, actually, being more of a spectator than an actual player. I had been recording our conversations with my mp3 player just for fun. I even remember the level we were playing - Crash (the character, he’s a fox) was on a tropical island collecting diamonds and playing with the tiki statues. I can’t believe I’m talking about a video game on a food blog but it all ties in - keep reading. How do I remember all of this, I have no idea. It was a fun game, but we had been playing all afternoon, and it was almost dinner time. I started to smell something really yummy coming from across the hall in the kitchen. My mom and yiayia came over with plates of these fried patties. Now, fried food tastes good, no matter what it is, but these were something I wasn’t expecting. They were sizzling hot, but they smelled so good and I was so hungry that I dug into one. It was absolutely scrumptious! It turned out that my grandma took zucchini from her garden and shredded it, adding fresh dill, breadcrumbs and an egg. I had at least four of those that night, and they weren’t exactly small. Who would have known that fried zucchini tasted so good? I absolutely loved the Kolokithokeftedes and this memory makes me all the more eager to try this recipe. The last time I had these was probably around that time, so I felt the need to make these again.

On the food blog I found, there was a recipe, but I continued to search to see what other recipes I could find. It turns out that they’re all pretty much the same, so I chose one and bought the ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3 medium zucchini

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup chopped dill

¼ cup chopped parsley

4 green onions, finely chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic

Zest and juice of one lemon

Freshly ground pepper black pepper

½ lb feta cheese, crumbled

2 Tablespoons breadcrumbs

2 Tablespoons flour

Procedure:

Grate the zucchini, sprinkle salt on top and let it sit for 10-15 minutes in colander or strainer so that it can lose the water. Squeeze excess water out and place into a bowl. Add the eggs, dill, parsley, onions and garlic and mix. Then add the flour/breadcrumb mixture until thick. Add the crumbled feta and mix well.

 

Heat some oil in a pan for the frying. (I didn’t fry mine, I pan fried, these fritters can be cooked either way, but I would probably recommend frying because they do taste better and have a better texture). Make small round balls of the zucchini fritter mixture and place in pan. Cook on each side until brown and crisp, yet moist on the inside.

On the side I like to serve these with a tzatziki sauce, a Greek yogurt sauce. Any normal tzatziki sauce works fine. I used Fage yogurt (pronounced Fah-yeh!) with chopped dill, garlic, olive oil, salt, and finely diced cucumber. It’s a cool and refreshing dip that perfectly complements these delicious fritters. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

New Year’s Eve Cake - "Basilopita"

Everyone has their New Year’s Eve traditions. Many people watch the big ball drop from Times Square, others make special foods, and mostly everyone enjoys eating something special. One new tradition that I learned about this year is eating 12 grapes after midnight, each one representing a month of the New Year. If they are all sweet then you will have a happy and sweet year. If one is sour, then that month might be a little difficult.  

In Greece on New Year’s Eve, every year we cut the traditional “Basilopita” or New Year’s cake. We place one coin under the cake and then cut the pieces. Whoever gets the coin in their piece is said to be lucky all year. Unfortunately I didn’t get the coin this year, but I can still share the memory with you.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

The juice and rind of half and orange

1 cup milk

3 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. vanilla

6 eggs

1 cup sliced toasted almonds

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat sugar and butter together until creamy. 

Add eggs one at a time. Then add the dry ingredients alternately with milk until they are all used. Add vanilla extract and slowly fold in sliced almonds. 

Grease pan with butter and sprinkle some more sliced almonds evenly to make a thin layer in the pan. Pour cake mixture into pan and bake for 50 minutes to an hour. Let cool in pan for about an hour. Place a plate on top of pan and flip onto plate (so that the almonds will end up on top).

You can use powder sugar with water to make a glaze, to write “2012” if you like. And don’t forget to 

place a coin in the bottom.

Finally, cut after midnight to see who gets the coin! 

Cypriot Meatballs – “Soutzoukakia”

Meatballs infused with wine, cumin and garlic, sound good? This recipe is my favorite meat dish I have ever had in my life, aside from my papou’s (grandpa’s) famous shish kabobs. These meatballs, or like they call them in Cyprus, “Soutzoukakia” are one of the many traditional dishes cooked during the winter months. The recipe has been handed down from generation to generation through my mother’s family, and has now reached me. What can I say; if I could I would eat this every day for the rest of my life. 

Usually, when there is a Greek family gathering, there are platters upon platters of food to choose from; soutzoukakia is one of the dishes commonly included. Every time we cook this, it feels like someone is coming over, because my mom would always cook this as one of the dishes to serve to our friends. Comfort food doesn’t begin to describe this. This is a Greek, delicious, warming, and filling dish that will certainly leave you begging for more. 

The Meatballs:

1 ½ lbs Ground Beef or lamb

1 egg

1 ½ tsp Ground cumin

½ cup onions

¼ cup Chopped parsley

2-3 cloves minced garlic

Salt and pepper

½ cup Panko breadcrumbs

¼ cup of red wine

The Sauce (use your favorite sauce and add cumin and wine):  about 2-3 
cups

Procedure:

Cook the sauce adding all of the ingredients in a pot and the cumin and wine. Let it simmer until the ingredients are all incorporated, and turn heat on low until the meatballs are cooked.

To make the meatballs, take the ground beef and add all of the ingredients and mix together. Use hands to make sure the ingredients are well incorporated. 

Once the meatball mixture is mixed together, take a spoon and begin to make small round balls (about an inch in diameter).  Take an iron skillet (or just a normal pan if you don’t have one) and drizzle olive oil to cook meat balls. Place them in the skillet, and brown both sides.

After they are browned, place them in the sauce to simmer for an hour and become tender and delicious.

Serve the meatballs over orzo, rice or mashed potatoes. This is a great meal to have in the cold winter weather and I hope you and your families will enjoy it.  

Holiday Cookies 2: Kourambiedes - Wedding Cookies

I can’t tell you how much I love these cookies because every time I make them, I can't stop eating.  These are called Kourambiedes, or more commonly in English, Wedding Cookies. Every year I have these and share them with friends around the holiday season. I remember ever since I was a kid, whenever my mom would invite friends over, I would wake up to the smell of her homemade cooking. One of my favorites are her kourambiedes, which are delicate bite-size butter cookies heavily coated in powder sugar. When you bite into one, it melts in your mouth. It has a crunch from the almond, and is sweet and moist from the powdered sugar. If you have a sweet tooth, you definitely need to try this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb or 4 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup toasted sliced almonds (optional)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla or 1 tsp almond extract

5-6 cups of flour and 1 tsp baking powder

¼ cup of powdered sugar

1 jigger brandy

*Extra powdered sugar about 1 lb to sift on top of cookies*

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy. 

Add eggs, brandy, vanilla/almond extract and slowly add flour until it makes a soft dough. Add sliced almonds. 

Shape into small (bite size) balls and bake for about 20 minutes. 

When cookies are removed from oven, place directly on powdered sugar and sift some extra on top. 

Let them sit until cool, and then eat!