Courgette burgers with feta

These courgette burgers pair grated courgette with feta cheese, red onion, lemon and fresh herbs. They are baked, not fried, so are extra light and healthy. Sandwich in a veggie burger or serve the cooled patties as part of a Greek meze.

I really, really like courgettes (zucchini!). Grated, salted and squeezed of excess water, their moist shreds melt into any number of dishes, adding oozy texture and complex, powerful nutrition.

Today’s recipe, however, is one of my favourite, go-to uses for this vegetable – bright, lemony, cheesy, baked ‘fritters’ – shaped large like the burgers above or into mini balls for unparallelled tasty snacking.

I used two Greek recipes – one from Closet Cooking and one from Saveur magazine – as flavour inspiration, but changed the cooking method. These recipes both called for deep-frying them, but I discovered one day when I had run out of frying oil that they actually taste better when baked. I didn’t even need to oil the baking tray.

That means that these versatile ‘fritters’ not only taste amazing, they are light and chockful of fantastically healthy ingredients. Instead of rare deep-fried treat, they are an everyday staple. Courgettes, lemon, fresh herbs, garlic, feta. Without tasting them, you will never believe that this combination of ingredients can taste THIS good.

I started off serving these as part of Greek- and Middle Eastern-inspired feasts. However, they have recently proved to be a massive hit when served with Indian food as well, although there’s nothing Indian about the flavours here. They are also great on a buffet as they are delicious hot, warm or cold.

But my new favourite way to eat them is as a veggie burger. One of the problems I often encounter with veggie burgers (apart from tasting like crap!), is that they fall apart when squashed between a bun, but these hold together absolutely beautifully. And consisting almost entirely of vegetables, they are truly a veggie burger.

When choosing your courgettes, aim for the smallest ones whenever possible. Small summer squashes are more tender with less seeds and a softer skin. And as they’re sold by weight, there’s nothing to lose!

I think you could adapt the flavourings in these fritters quite freely, as courgette is a fairly neutral flavour. Perhaps add some chopped dried tomatoes or use spices instead of herbs. I would, however, hang on to the lemon. It adds a clean, fresh, bright flavour which really complements the courgette. And it’s healthy!

For a vegan version of this dish, use ground flax seed instead of the egg and change the feta for a good handful of capers.

To make these gluten-free, change the whole wheat flour to one more suitable – gram/chickpea flour often works as a healthy and delicious alternative (mmmm, maybe I’ll try that next time), or you could use a speciality celiac product. I haven’t tested them with other flours, but I see no reason why it shouldn’t hold together. Do let me know if you try this recipe with any other kind of flour.

This recipe makes about 6 large burger patties or 10-14 smaller balls. For them to hold together properly they need to cool down after being removed from the oven – this process firms them up. If you want to serve them hot, it’s better to reheat them rather than eating them straight out of the oven.