Feta Fritters (Φέτα Τηγανίτες)

Feta fritters best served hot! - Click to Enlarge Image

This coming Wednesday, I will be doing a Greek cooking demonstration entitled “Things to Do with Feta Cheese” to an audience of some 20 people or so; this is one of the recipes that I will be presenting. Credit for the recipe goes to my Aunt Dimitra, who has been making these tasty little bites for as long as anyone in my family can remember. She has graciously allowed me to add this dainty to my repertoire of Greek food recipes and thereby make it my own. This little morsel is especially popular with the kiddies, and makes for a great appetizer or snack with some cold Retsina wine and a few Kalamata olives. The key to this recipe is to chill the fritter mix well before cooking to ensure cohesion throughout the frying.

Ingredients:

1 cup (250 ml.) good quality crumbled Greek feta cheese
2 lbs (1 kg.) potatoes
2 eggs, well-beaten
1 medium sized onion, finely diced½ cup (125 ml.) dried bread crumbs
½ cup (125 ml.) Greek extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup (60 ml.) fresh dill, finely chopped
2 tbsp. (30 ml.) fresh mint, finely chopped
1 tbsp. (15 ml.) dried Greek oregano
Fresh ground pepper
Flour
Lemon

1. Peel potatoes, cut into quarters and boil in salted water until soft (approx. 20 minutes).
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash potatoes thoroughly then add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the onion, dill, mint, oregano and breadcrumbs and mix well. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Then, add the feta cheese and the beaten eggs and mix until everything is well incorporated.
3. Put bowl in freezer for 15 minutes to chill the mixture.
4. Remove mixture from freezer, spoon out small portions of the mixture and roll them with your fingers into balls (about the size of ping pong balls). Place balls on a flat baking pan covered with wax paper and slightly flatten each ball into a little cake with your fingers.
5. Roll each fritter in flour to cover completely, then place pan in freezer for another 5 minutes to firm the fritters before frying.
6. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and start frying the fritters in batches over a medium-high heat for about 1 minute per side (until golden brown), use a small spatula or fork to turn them over in the pan.
7. Clean pan between batches and use fresh oil for each frying.
8. Sprinkle fritters with lemon juice and use some chopped fresh mint as a garnish and serve immediately.

Servings: Makes approximately 20 pieces.