Kabak Mücveri (Turkish Squash Fritters)
Also called mücver, Turkish squash fritters, zucchini fritters
Mücver are Turkish fritters of grated summer squash bound with egg, feta and plenty of dill and mint, fried crisp and eaten hot or cool as a meze with garlic yogurt.
- Makes
- about 12 fritters, serves 4
Ingredients
Pan sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.
Fritters
Yogurt sauce
Method
Grate and salt. If the squash is large and seedy, halve it lengthwise and scoop out the seed core. Grate it on the large holes of a box grater, toss with the kosher salt (1 tsp) in a colander and leave 25 minutes.
Squeeze it dry. Wrap the squash in a clean kitchen towel and wring it out hard, in two or three batches. You should get ½ to ¾ cup of liquid. If it still feels damp, wring again.
Mix. Combine the squash, scallions (4), dill (⅓ cup), mint (¼ cup), feta (115 g4 oz), eggs (2), flour (60 g½ cup) and black pepper (½ tsp). Don't add salt. The mixture should hold together when scooped; if it's loose, squeeze more before adding flour a tablespoon at a time.
Fry right away, before the batter starts to weep. Heat ¼ inch of oil in a skillet over medium-high until it shimmers. Drop in heaping tablespoons and flatten gently to about ⅜ inch, about 4 at a time in a 10-inch pan.
Fry 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deep golden and crisp at the edges. Drain on a rack, not paper towels, or the bottoms steam soft.
Yogurt sauce. Stir the yogurt (240 g1 cup), garlic (1), lemon and salt together while the fritters fry.
Notes
- Serve hot or at room temperature. In Turkey they are often eaten cool as a meze.
- Reheat on a rack in a 375°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes, never in the microwave.
- Mint means spearmint. With peppermint, use half as much and make up the rest with dill or parsley. Dried spearmint works too: start with 1 tbsp, rubbed between your palms, and fry a test fritter.
- Variations. Swap half the dill for fresh oregano, or add ½ tsp Aleppo pepper to the batter.