Greek Courgette & Calamari Fritters with a fresh tzatziki dip.

Ingredients

For the Fritters

500g Caught Online Cleaned Calamari Tubes & Tentacles

300g Courgette, grated

3 Tbsp (25g) Onion, finely chopped

30g Parmesan, grated

80g Feta, crumbled

1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs/Panko

1/4 Cup (12g) Fresh Parsley

3 Jumbo Eggs

2 Tbsp Cake Flour (for the batter)

1/2 Cup Cake Flour (for coating the calamari)

1 lemon (zest for the fritters, juice for the tzatziki)

Salt as needed

Canola Oil for deep frying your fritters

For The Tzatziki

1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt

1Tbsp Fresh Mint

1/2 Mediterranean Cucumber, grated

Salt to Taste

Fresh Lemon Juice, to taste

Method:

Cut the calamari tubes in half, into bite sized pieces. To make the coating, blanch the grated courgette in boiling water for two minutes. Drain the courgette, and once it has cooled slightly, place it into a clean dish towel. Bring the ends of the dish towel together and wring out all the excess water from your courgette. Be sure to be thorough or your batter will be too watery, and the fritters might spit when fried. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and flour until well combined and no lumps remain. Mix in the pressed courgette, 1 tsp salt, cheeses, onion, parsley, lemon zest and bread crumbs and stir until combined. Heat your oil in a large, high sided pan or deep fat fryer until it reaches 180°C. Test the oil by dropping in some batter. If it fizzes vigorously the oil is ready. While the oil heats, put the flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Once the oil is hot, work in batches to fry your fritters. Do a couple at a time to avoid cooling the oil, which will result in soggy fritters. Add a few petals of calamari to the flour and toss them until well coated, then dip the calamari one at a time into the courgette batter, making sure the petals of calamari are evenly coated on the outside. Carefully lower the calamari, in batches, into the hot oil and cook until golden and crisp. Remove the fritters from the oil onto kitchen paper, to drain off any excess oil. Serve immediately nice and hot , alongside tzatziki and wedges of lemon. For Serving Lemon Wedges To make your tzatziki, wring the grated cucumber between your hands, to remove excess water. Add the squeezed cucumber and mint to the yogurt. Stir everything together then add lemon juice and salt to taste. Separate the tentacles from the tubes. Reserve the tentacles for another use. Chefs Tip: toss the tentacles in a 50/50 mix of cake flour, and polenta, seasoned with a pinch of salt, then fry them after the fritters for a delicious crisp snack.

Chef Jess Bun