It’s a little late in the season for zucchini (courgette) recipes I know, but if you are like me and have just been given two huge zucchini marrow, well, you’ll be looking for clever ways to use them up! Our little plant didn’t survive being transplanted from our last house, so this has been the first year in awhile we have not had zucchini coming out our ears. I was gifted these monsters below by my mother-in-law, who had been given a bunch from a friend of hers. If you’ve ever grown them yourself you’ll know how quickly they grow and how more often than not, you’d do anything to get rid of a few… to friends, neighbours, friends of friends, strangers. I gladly accepted them.
Flavoured with a little fresh mint, lemon zest and salty feta cheese, these fritters are light and crispy on the outside while beautifully moist and tender within. The soft salty pockets of feta cheese are my favourite bits, but by all means leave it out to make this recipe gluten and dairy-free.
They are nice served warm, but even better if served straight from the pan, piping hot with just a little fresh lemon juice squeezed over top.
Looking for more ways to use up zucchini/courgette?
- gluten-free courgette, garlic and lemon spaghetti
- grilled courgette with parsley, olives and garlic crumbs
- chocolate courgette cake
gluten-free zucchini, mint + feta fritters
After grating your zucchini it’s important to get as much moisture out of it as possible otherwise your fritters will end up soggy. I find the easiest way to do this is to place it all into a clean tea towel, wrap up and wring it out until all the liquid stops dripping. Chickpea flour is also known as chana or besan and can be found at Indian grocery stores or your local health-food shop. To make this recipe dairy-free, simply omit the feta. If you can’t eat corn, replace the cornflour with another starch, like potato flour (potato starch), tapioca flour or even rice flour would work too.
serves 4 (makes around 16 medium fritters)
1/2 cup (60g) chickpea flour
2 tablespoons (20g) cornflour (corn starch)
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
1/4 cup (60ml) cold water
2 eggs
zest 1 lemon
1/2 cup loosely packed mint, roughly chopped
1/4 cup (50g) crumbled feta
3 cups grated zucchini (courgette), about 3 small zucchini, excess moisture removed *see above
sea salt and black pepper
rice bran/olive oil, to shallow-fry
lemon wedges, to serve, optional
Sieve chickpea flour, cornflour (corn starch) and baking powder into a medium bowl. Whisk water and eggs together in a small bowl, then add to the flours, mixing to form a smooth batter. Add lemon zest, chopped mint, crumbled feta and grated zucchini (courgette). Season with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then mix to combine.
Heat a heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a little rice bran/olive oil to cover the base of the pan. Spoon heaped tablespoonfuls of mixture into the pan, without over-crowding. Cook for approx 2 minutes, until the bottom is lightly golden brown, then flip over and continue to cook for a further few minutes until cooked through. Remove from the pan and place onto a plate lined with kitchen paper. Repeat with remaining fritter mixture until all are cooked. Serve immediately with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
33 Responses
Courgettes will be in season for us in a couple of months, and I will definitely try this lovely recipe.
Ooo I like that these use only two flours, one of which most people would have in their pantry as well. The chickpea flour would add a lovely flavour and the cornflour a nice crispiness…great recipe!
These look so tasty! I might just have to make them for lunch today! 🙂
Making these immediatly!YUM.It is a well known fact in our town to lock your car door during zucchini season,you come back after getting groceries or mail and your back seat is full of the buggers!!!:)Will have to pass this recipe along.
Jacquie your comments always put a smile on my face! That's the funniest zucchini story yet 🙂 xx
too funny!
These are BEAUTIFUL and look absolutely delicious! A perfect recipe for those summer BBQs! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Mint is just made for zucchini and so is feta, so all together the tastes are perfect! Yummo!
Just made these for dinner using brown rice flour and grated Haloumi instead of chickpea and feta. Absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for posting.
Ooh yum, I can just imagine standing over the pan eating these piping hot..delicious
Now that is just the way to go with feta and zucchini. The flavours just blend perfectly, and that is so in season. 🙂
Thanks!
Hi, these look fabulous – quick question – how could I substitute zucchini for say, silverbeet. Have loads of silverbeet but no zucchini…Thanks, loving all the recipes!
You know what I would do? I'd quickly blanch the silverbeet in boiling water,until just wilted. Cool, by running under cold water. Then squeeze out as much liquid as you can, before finely chopping and adding to the fritter batter. Or you could always just try finely slicing it raw and adding…
Tried this – thank you – was delicious!
I want one now! These look delicious Emma, so golden & crisp on the outside, love feta with zucchini.
This beats the same 'ol same 'ol corn fritters I'd normally make! 🙂
Oh I dunno, I love corn fritters too!
I love feta cheese!!!!looks so yummy!!!!thanks for sharing!!!!
Emma, Once again when I read your post, I want to invite myself over for dinner, lunch, breakfast… Everything you cook looks delicious.
My hubby made gf zucchini muffins this weekend and our season is just beginning here.
Have a good week,
E
Thanks so much Erin 🙂 If you are ever down these ways again, you are more than welcome to pop in for dinner, lunch or breakfast! xx
Your photos are so beautiful and this recipe sounds devine!
Sitting here eating zucchini fritters for lunch as I type – how funny. Your version sounds delightful and the feta I am sure gives them a nice flavour.
Made these all the way over in Cape Town – we loved them! I had no mint in the garden so used Basil instead. Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoyed them 🙂 Basil would be yum too!
Can't wait for zuchini from my garden, going out to buy some now! Got loads of the mint that grows wild here in Cornwall UK in my garden so will use that. So glad I found your site!
Had these last night – even my meat eating boys enjoyed them! Yummo!
I made these for dinner tonight and they were excellent!
I'm planning on making these tonight. What is the weight of the courgette in grams (g) before grating?
As I too have 3 massive courgettes/marrows 🙂
I'm sorry I don't have any courgettes handy to weigh for you. This recipe was based on regular medium sized ones though, so you'll just have you use your judgement and maybe only use 1-2 or your huge ones 🙂
Hi Emma! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cooked these fritters since bookmarking this recipe just before Christmas! They are seriously delicious and by far the best zucchini fritter I’ve tasted both home cooked or at a cafe. I love your books/website and always feel inspired by your delicious recipes and gorgeous photos. Wishing you a wonderful 2017!
Emma! Just made these fritters yum!!! Permanent fixture in our household… Thank you for the visual feasts you serve up is such a delightful delicious pleasure…
Thank you Emma! These are fantastic, have made many times over the summer and just wanted to say what a great recipe, so simple to make and so delicious! We’ve just enjoyed for lunch.
You’re welcome Tracey! We love them too xx