Courgette or Zucchini-balls (Kolokithokeftedes if you prefer Greek)

Firstly, thanks to Karen who pointed me in the direction of the Crete website to this recipe.

This recipe serves who knows how many. It depends what else you put on the table. But it’s going to give you about twelve that are about the size of a decent burger, or bifteki.

5 Courgettes, reasonably large (I used a mixture of 5 varieties)
1 big tomato
1 medium onion
1 potato, again medium sized (I used red and white)
1 large carrot
1 teacup breadcrumbs, finely ground (I used rusks.)
1 teacup flour
1 egg
A generous chunk of feta cheese. ( I used a small pot of goats cheese)
Parsley, fresh and chopped, salt and pepper. Don’t forget that the feta is salty too. Paprika is a good addition if you like a little spice
Wash and peel the vegetables, leave skin on the tomato, as it will be grated.
Grate the courgettes, tomato, onion and carrot into a colander that is standing inside a large mixing bowl. This allows excess water to drain away.
Crumble the feta cheese into the mix.
Begin to work the ingredients together by hand, carefully, not to lose any over the sides of the colander.
Once done, lift out the colander, empty the bowl of liquid and transfer the contents of colander to bowl.
Now break the egg into the bowl and add the feta, chopped herbs and salt and pepper. Easy on the salt, the feta is quite salty. Continue to massage the mix between fingers after adding breadcrumbs and, more slowly, flour. Turmeric will be added at this point.
I love this part, as rough shavings of vegetable matter turn soft beneath and between fingers. The small chunks of feta, flour and breadcrumbs will begin to melt and blend into the liquid, creating a smooth texture. Add a little flour if necessary, but by now you should have a smooth, but not runny, consistency.
After this, the mix is helped by being allowed to stand in the fridge for an hour, before frying in olive oil. After standing, the mix will ‘leak’ water, so add a bit more flower to return to correct consistency.
Scoop out patties with a spoon, and make patties on a floured surface. The level of olive oil in the frying pan should cover half the pattie. Fry in olive oil that is bubbling but not too fiercely, as for fried potatoes. Turn the keftedes once, browning both sides. Finish by placing them on absorbent paper for a minute, then serve with a little yoghurt on the side and maybe a sprig of parsley.

It is a lot of reading, but is not a lot of work and worth a try.