Courgette and feta patties with mint and parsley

Courgette and feta patties with mint and parsley

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 3 firm, medium sized courgettes, washed
• Salt
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, cut in half lengthways, in half again and sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 225g/8oz feta, crumbled
• A bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• A bunch of fresh mint leaves, chopped
• A bunch of fresh dill fronds, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Turkish red pepper, or 1 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Sunflower oil for frying

Method

• Trim off the ends of the courgettes, but don’t peel them. Hold them at an angle and grate them.
  
• Sprinkle the grated courgette with a little salt and leave them to weep for 5 minutes. Squeeze the grated courgette in your hand to extract any of the drawn-out juices.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan. Stir in the grated courgette, onion, and garlic and fry until they begin to take on colour. Leave to cool.
• Tip the flour into a bowl and gradually beat in the eggs to form a smooth batter. Beat in the cooled courgette mixture. Add the feta, herbs and Turkish red pepper. Season with a little pepper – add salt, if you like, but usually the feta is quite salty. Mix well.
• Heat enough sunflower oil for frying in a heavy-based, non-stick pan. Drop a few spoonfuls of the mixture, leaving a little space between each one, into the oil and fry the patties in batches, until firm to touch and golden brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper.
• Serve immediately while they are still warm.