The Refreshing Tastes of the Mediterranean
Tomatokeftedes are on almost every menu in Santorini, Greece. The locally grown tomatoes used to make these delicious fritters are full of sun-ripened juiciness and flavour due to the volcanic nature of the soil, which is rich in minerals and nutrients. Served as part of a meze plate or as an appetiser, they are best enjoyed with a glass or chilled wine or beer.
Tomatokeftedes Ingredients
Using simple ingredients common in Greece, the fritters consist of ripe tomatoes, onion, feta cheese, flour, lemon, dried oregano and lots of fresh herbs. The combination of herbs varies according to personal taste, but dill, parsley and mint are the most popular.
How To Make Tomatokeftedes
Believe it or not, even in the middle of their scorching summers, Greek locals are still willing to turn on the deep fryer to make these delicious Tomatokeftedes. Once the ingredients are combined and shaped into small round or oval balls, they are dropped into oil and fried over high heat until crispy and golden brown on the outside.
How To Serve Tomatokeftedes
The answer is pretty simple: serve it with a side of thick, creamy Greek yoghurt for dipping. Some Greek cooks like to stir in a little garlic, while others prefer to keep it plain and fresh – the choice is yours. However, that subtle hint of garlic really complements the fresh tomatoes and herbs in each fritter. And don’t forget to serve with fresh lemon wedges for a bright, citrusy finish.
Recipe: Tomatokeftedes (Greek Tomato Fritters)
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Tomatokeftedes (Greek Tomato Fritters)
Equipment
- You will need a deep fryer or medium pan filled with frying oil
Ingredients
Tomatokeftedes
- 500g ripe tomatoes
- 1 medium white onion
- 200g feta, crumbled
- 2 tbsp each of chopped fresh dill, parsley and mint
- 100g white flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- 1 tsp crushed chilli flakes (optional)
- Oil for deep frying
Dip
- 250ml thick Greek yoghurt
- 1 small garlic clove
- Lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Crush garlic clove and stir into yogurt. Refrigerate until needed.
- Using a larger box grater, grate half of the tomatoes into a large bowl to make tomato pulp. Save the remaining tomato skin and chop it into small pieces along with the other remaining half of tomatoes.
- Finely chop the onion. Add the onion to the chopped tomatoes and pulp along with the herbs, crumbled feta, lemon zest, baking powder and flour. Add chili flakes (if using) and season with salt and pepper. Gently mix, then shape into small round balls or oval-shaped fritters (if the mixture is too wet, add small amounts of flour and mix again until a firmer texture is achieved).
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or preferably up to 3 hours, to allow the flavour to develop and the flour to combine and thicken the ingredients.
- Heat a deep fryer to 170° or a medium saucepan filled with frying oil (see recipe notes for testing oil in a saucepan). Drop 3 or 4 fritters at a time into the oil and fry them until they are crisp and golden brown and the inside is cooked through.
- Transfer to paper towels to absorb the extra oil and sprinkle each fritter with a little salt.
- Transfer Tomatokeftedes to a large plate and serve with yogurt and lemon wedges.
Notes
- Use a thermometer
- When without a thermometer, drop a tiny amount of the batter into the oil. If the batter bubbles up around it then your oil is ready to fry. If the bubbles are hard or the oil is too hot, let it cool a bit and check the temperature again.