Courgette Fritters

Courgette fritters

2 large courgettes, ca 600 g in total, preferably lighter green skinned
coarse sea salt
1 medium white onion, peeled
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled
around 3 level tbsp plain white flour
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp each of chopped fresh mint, dill and flat leaved parsley
3 large whole eggs, beaten
sunflower oil
strained yoghourt, to serve

Wash the courgettes well then grate coarsely, including the skin. Sprinkle generously with salt and leave to stand for 15 minutes or so to weep their juices.
Meanwhile, grate the onion, discarding any juice and finely chop the clove of garlic. Drain the courgette and with your hands, squeeze well to get rid of any extra moisture. Mix together the drained courgette, onion and garlic mixture, and the beaten eggs. Stir well together with a wooden spoon.
Fill a non-stick pan with oil to a depth of around 1.5 cm and place over a medium heat. When the oil is hot enough to crisp a cube of bread, start frying the courgette fritters. Add the mixture a dessertspoonful at a time to the hot oil, never adding more than 3-4 dessertspoons at once or you will overcrowd the pan. With the first patties, stand well back in case the oil spits. Fry for 3 minutes or so then carefully turn over and fry for another minute or two. The fritters should be golden brown but still tinged with the green of the courgettes and herbs.
Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper, then repeat the exercise. This quantity should give you enough for 12 fritters. Serve hot as part of a mezze table with spoonfuls of cold yoghourt. The fritters are also good cold and can be reheated.