Zucchini and Haloumi Fritters

Ok, tonight it's something fast, simple and vegetarian with a Greek flavour. These haloumi and zucchini fritters make a lovely light lunch or a nice side dish for grilled or BBQ'd meat or seafood. I served mine with some simply marinated lamb cutlets, drizzled with olive oil, lemon and plenty of pepper. There were plenty left over for a fresh tasting lunch the next day. I was thinking that these would also be really nice finger foods - just make them bite sized instead of the meal sized ones pictured here.

I love salty flavours and gorgeous Cypriot haloumi cheese really gives you that - so much so that you should be really careful not to add any extra salt to your mixture, or the dish will be overwhelmed. The fritters will be salty already because of the very strong haloumi and have a lovely aroma and taste, from the spring onion, garlic, fresh parsley and mint added to the batter.

You can whip a batch of these in no time, so what are you waiting for?

Zucchini and Haloumi Fritters

with Garlic Yoghurt

You will need: 
For the fritters: 2 medium zucchini, 250g (1 small packet) Haloumi cheese, 2 teaspoons finely chopped mint, 2 tablespoons chopped continental parsley, 1/2 cup finely chopped spring onion, 2 eggs, 2 heaped tablespoons plain flour, 1 clove minced or very finely chopped garlic, 2 pinches cayenne pepper, olive oil for frying.

For the sauce: 1 cup continental style thick plain yoghurt, 2 teaspoons finely minced or pureed garlic, pinch of salt, pepper to taste.


Method:
First, make the sauce - simply combine all the sauce ingredients, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Grate the zucchini, place in a bowl and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can. Grate the haloumi.

Combine the haloumi, zucchini, mint, parsley, spring onion,eggs, flour, garlic and cayenne and mix well. Heat a non stick fry pan with a little olive oil and cook the mixture a tablespoon at a time for about 5 minutes each side. Use a spoon to gently shape the patties. The mixture will be quite soft - this is normal, and the fritters will firm up a little as they cook and then again as they cool.

Drain on paper towels. Serve warm or cold with the garlic yoghurt. Makes about a dozen medium sized fritters.

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