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ZUCCHINI FRITTERS WITH FETA AND DILL

In Greece, fritters are called keftedes and they vary from island to island and with the season. Keftedes can be made with tomatoes, chickpeas, or even with ground meat, like the ones my mom serves at family gatherings. Zucchini is a great vegetable for keftedes. I grate the entire thing, seeds and all, salt it, wring it out, and then make the fritters. These keftedes can be served as an hors d’oeuvre or a starter course and they don’t even need a sauce; just sprinkle some salt and crumbled feta on top.

Makes about 8 fritters; serves 4

2 medium zucchini

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1½ tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus whole dill for garnish

1 large scallion, white and green parts, thinly sliced on the bias

2 teaspoons minced garlic

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces feta cheese, coarsely chopped or crumbled

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 large egg

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Canola oil, for pan-frying

½ cup Greek yogurt

Coarse sea salt, for garnish

Grate the zucchini on the large holes of a grater onto a clean kitchen towel. Sprinkle with the kosher salt and let it rest while you gather and prep the remaining ingredients.

Wrap the zucchini in the towel and wring as much liquid out of it as possible, discarding the liquid. In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, mint, dill, scallion, garlic, pepper, feta, and all but 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest. Stir in the egg and flour and mix until well combined.

Add the canola oil to a large shallow pan; you want about ¼ inch or enough so that when all the fritters are in the pan, the oil comes halfway up their sides. Place the pan over medium-high heat. Form fritters by hand or using a ¼-cup measure, and fry them in the hot oil in batches. Cook until the fritters are golden brown on each side, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Transfer the fritters to plates and garnish with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of dill, the reserved lemon zest, and some coarse sea salt.

LIGHTLY CURED TUNA WITH OLIVES, OR ANGE, AND SHAVED FENNEL

This dish is based on the ancient Greek preparation called spinialo. Fishermen would travel down from their homes in the mountains to head out to sea for several weeks. For the journey home, they would take some of the fish they had caught, cut it into cubes, put it into empty wine jugs, and fill the bottles with sea water. The salt in the water would cure the fish. They would then eat the fish with a squeeze of lemon and some wild herbs, which would sustain them during their journey home.

I cure the fish with the brine from the olives, which imparts a mild olive flavor. Here I use cerignola, which I love in raw preparations, but you could use kalamata, niçoise, or any other black, brine-cured olive. You need to leave the fish in the brine for at least thirty minutes—the tuna picks up flavors fast. Depending how far you want to take it, though, you could leave the tuna in the cure for up to a day. To keep the fishermen’s tradition, we serve it with some freshly shaved fennel and fennel fronds, which grow wild in Greece (though some pickled fennel would also be delicious), along with a squeeze of orange juice and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Serves 4

½ pound sushi-grade tuna loin

10 cerignola olives, pitted and left whole with ¾ cup olive brine, or more if needed to cover the fish slices

1 large orange, segmented (see Symon Says), juice reserved

2 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds

Freshly ground black pepper

½ small bulb fennel, shaved (½ cup)

Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish

Coarse sea salt, for garnish

Slice the tuna across the grain into ¼-inch-thick slices. Lay the slices in a deep glass or ceramic dish, pour in enough olive brine just to cover the fish, and let it cure for at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate, covered, for up to a day). Add the olives, reserved orange juice, and fennel fronds.