I remember detesting both tomato and zucchini when I was a child. I could not even handle seeing other people eat them, and wonder if all adults have a skewed sense of taste. I did not understand the purpose of zucchini either, especially when introduced to zucchini bread. Why foodie Gods? Why?

I am not sure at what point I started accepting tomatoes as a possibility. Perhaps when I realized ketchup and pizza sauce were tomato based, or when I fell in love with bruschetta at age 13. I cannot even remember when zucchini entered as an option for me.

This recipe is to appease my childhood hatred for these foods and combine them into a heavenly fritter, because you really have to do something extraordinary to mess up something fried. I was inspired by Five Star Foodie Culinary Adventures, but obviously decided to make a few changes, most notably the addition of zucchini and using chickpea flour or besan.

Fritters:

• 1 pound, about 2 large beefsteak tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 pound, about 3 zucchini, shredded
• Half an onion, very finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• zest of one lemon
• 1 cup chickpea flour or besan
• 1 teaspoon baking power
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Start by squeezing all the water out of the zucchini. If you are lazy about this step, you may find yourself with a little bit of a mess as you try to cook the fritters.

Drain as much water out as you can from the zucchini

Combine the all the ingredients in a large bowl.

MIx all the ingredients together

Make sure you onions are very finely chopped. Heat about 1 inch of oil in a non-stick skillet. Make sure the oil is hot, roughly at 350 degrees prior to frying the patties or else they will fall apart. Form the patties, using your palm as a guide, not to big and not too thick. It is best to place them on a slotted spoon and slide them in.

Frying the patties

Fry on each side for about 4 minutes. Careful when you turn them over.

Use a slotted spoon to put the raw dough and to flip

Drain them for a few minutes on a paper bag to remove excess oil.

Let rest on paper to drain excess oil

And serve with vegan tzatziki:

• 1 pound silken tofu
• 1 seedless cucumber, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Juice of a lemon
• 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Blend half the tofu in a blender of food processor until creamy. Crumble the other half with your hands and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

Serve with vegan tzatziki

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