Mucver — crispy Turkish zucchini fritters

Mucver is one of the most beloved appetizers of Turkish cuisine: small crispy fritters with grated zucchini, eggs, feta cheese and fresh dill, fried in hot oil until golden. In Turkey it is usually served with strained yogurt with garlic as an accompanying sauce, and it is an excellent way to use up seasonal zucchini.

Ingredients (for 4 people, about 20 fritters):

• 3 medium zucchini
• 2 eggs
• 150 g feta cheese (or crumbled white cheese)
• 100 g flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 bunch fresh dill (or parsley), finely chopped
• 2 spring onions, chopped (or half a regular onion)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• oil for frying
• to serve: strained yogurt with crushed garlic

Preparation steps:

Wash the zucchini and grate them on a coarse grater. Place them in a colander, sprinkle with half a teaspoon of salt and leave for 15 minutes to release their water.

Squeeze the grated zucchini with your hands as hard as possible — this is the secret to fritters that come out crispy and not soggy.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, add the squeezed zucchini, the crumbled cheese, the dill and the spring onions. Mix well.

Add the flour, the baking powder, the remaining salt and the pepper. Mix until a thick, batter-like mixture forms. If it is too liquid, add another spoonful of flour.

Heat oil in a wide pan (about 1 cm of oil). Take spoonfuls of the mixture and drop them into the hot oil, flattening the fritters slightly.

Fry for 2–3 minutes on each side, until golden and crispy. Remove onto kitchen paper to drain the oil.

Serve warm with strained yogurt with garlic or with natural yogurt.

Preparation time: 20 minutes preparation + 15 minutes frying

Servings: 4 people (about 20 fritters)