Greek Tomato Fritters

These Greek Tomato Fritters or Domatokeftedes are an easy mezze or appetizer from the Greek island of Santorini. A delicious and unique way to enjoy summer’s best tomatoes! Little crispy fried nuggets bursting with tomato flavor and begging to be dipped into a creamy tzatziki.

It’s last call on tomatoes for the season. 😥

While most of the country moves on to pumpkins, sweaters and warm apple cider this time of year, I always keep one foot firmly planted in summer for the entirety of September. I’m just not ready to let it go yet.

Late August into September is really when tomatoes and a lot of other summer veggies are at their prime – at least here in New Jersey. I go absolutely crazy this time of year trying to eat as many tomatoes as I possibly can, because when they’re gone, I’m going to miss them so much. And they will be gone so, so soon. 

I have many favorite tomato recipes, but I’m always looking for new and interesting things to do with them. This recipe fits the bill. I first tried these fritters back in July when we were in Greece, where they’re known as domatokeftedes – a word I struggle to pronounce, just like most other Greek words. They were on just about every menu, they were delicious, and very intriguing. How exactly were they made? Being that tomatoes are so insanely juicy, I couldn’t imagine how they were able to prevent the batter from being soggy.

After doing some research and messing around with a few different versions, I realized that the tomatoes are essentially the only liquid required. No milk, no eggs, nothing. Just that sweet, tangy tomato juice to give them that distinctly tomatoey flavor. My kind of cooking!

One of the best cooking souvenirs that I’ve ever brought back from my travels is this pungent oregano that I picked up in Greece. It’s so strong, it almost tastes medicinal – it will make your tongue burn! It’s awesome, and I’ve been adding it to just about everything I make, but I decided to leave it out of this recipe because, well, it made them taste like pizza.

Now hear me out! Tasting like pizza is certainly never a bad thing, but I didn’t want these to taste Italian. I wanted them to taste distinctly Greek, so I skipped the oregano and used mint and parsley instead- both of which are also traditional, but give a much more unique flavor that took me right back to the Greek island of Paros where we spent half of our trip. It’s a magical place. And this is a magical recipe. 

Feta cheese in the fritters is not necessarily traditional, but I’ll always take the opportunity to add cheese to a recipe whenever it feels appropriate. If you want to keep this recipe vegan, just go ahead and leave it out. No harm, no foul. Gluten free? Replace the wheat flour with your favorite gluten free cup-to-cup blend. This one is my favorite (and what I used). 

These taste pretty darn delicious all on their own, but I love serving them with a side of tzatziki sauce for dipping, just like they did in Greece. For the record, just about everything was served with a side of tzatziki sauce in Greece, and I was not mad about it one bit.

I hope the tomatoes are still flowing wherever you are in the world, but if they’re not, bookmark this one for when they’re back. It will be worth the wait.

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Greek Tomato Fritters

• Author: Nicole Gaffney (ColeyCooks.com)
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: ~20
• Category: appetizer
• Method: fried
• Cuisine: Greek

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Description

These Greek Tomato Fritters are an easy mezze or appetizer from Santorini in the Greek Islands. A delicious and unique way to enjoy summer’s best tomatoes! Little crispy fried nuggets bursting with tomato flavor and begging to be dipped into a creamy tzatziki.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound tomatoes, finely diced
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 scallions finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely minced
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 cup all-purpose flour or a cup-for-cup gluten free flour blend
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
• Olive oil or vegetable oil for frying

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Instructions

1. Add the tomatoes, onions, scallions, parsley, mint, salt and pepper into a medium-large bowl. Mix to combine, then add the flour and baking powder. Mix until it forms a cohesive batter, then stir in the feta, but be careful not to overtmix or it will make the fritters tough. 
2. Heat a thin layer of oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan (such as cast iron) over medium-high heat.
3. Working in batches, carefully place heaping tablespoons of batter into the hot oil. Fry on all sides until golden brown, crispy and cooked through. If the batter is still a little bit raw in the center, you can finish cooking in a 350 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes.
4. Serve hot with tzatziki sauce (recipe). 

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Keywords: mezze, feta, Santorini, fritters, tomatoes