Tomatokeftedes - Greek Tomato Fritters

Greek Tomato Fritters are a popular summer dish from the island of Santorini. Famous for their rich tomato flavor, airy, herby batter, infused with bits of salty feta cheese, and delicious, deep-fried crisp edges! Served with a dollop of Greek yogurt on the side.

In Greece, we call them Tomatokeftedes or Domatokeftedes. They're a traditional Meze dish enjoyed in most Greek Tavernas, especially during the summer, when tomatoes are sun-ripe, juicy, and intensely sweet. The original recipe comes from Santorini Island in the Cyclades.

Table Of Contents

• Tomato Variety
• Ingredients
• Other Ingredients
• How To Make
• Make Them Gluten-free
• Cooking Tomato Fritters
• Serve With
• Recipe

Tomato Variety

The Santorini Tomato Fritters are made using the delicious local tomato variety that takes its name after the island, the Santorini tomato.

Of course, you can make these juicy and flavorful tomato fritters with almost any tomato variety, as long as it's ripe, sweet, and in season! If I were to suggest two safe options, it would be Roma Tomatoes or a Vine Ripe Tomatoes.

Ingredients

• Fresh ripe tomatoes
• Red onion
• Feta cheese crumbled
• Fresh herbs: basil and parsley
• Dried oregano
• Red wine vinegar: white wine and apple cider work as well.
• Sweet parika: to enhance sweetness, you can use ¼ of sugar instead.
• Self-raisin flour

Other Ingredients

The locals on Santorini island many times use Fava in the fritters as well. Since it's also a popular and well-loved product from the island. It's a type of Yellow Split Pea produced there, called Fava Santorinis.

Of course, Fava needs to be cooked first before you add it to the batter. You can see my recipe on How to Make Traditional Greek Fava.

How To Make

To make traditional Greek Tomato Fritters, finely chop the tomatoes and toss them in a bowl with their juices. Grate the onion and finely chop the fresh herbs. Toss in the bowl with the tomatoes, and add also the paprika, vinegar, and some freshly ground pepper. Stir well and marinate for 10-15 minutes. This intensifies the flavor a lot.

Next, mix in the crumbled feta cheese, and gradually incorporate the flour. Add enough flour so you have a batter that holds its shape on the spoon, but it's not thick enough to be shaped by hand.

Make Them Gluten-free

To make these deep-fried tomato fritters gluten-free, you can substitute flour with corn flour (Maize flour, not corn starch), millet flour, or chickpea flour. Just don't forget to mix 2 teaspoons of baking powder into the flour you are using before adding it to the batter.

Cooking Tomato Fritters

You can make this tomatokeftedes recipe deep-fried, pan-fried, or oven-baked. The latter is a healthier option in case you don't mind sacrificing some of the flavor.

Deep-frying: Take spoonfuls of the fritter batter and dip them in plenty of hot frying oil. Deep-fry until deep golden on both sides. Use two forks to flip them.

Pan-frying: Heat a good splash of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add a spoonful of the batter and press with the back of the spoon to flatten it. Cook until it sets on one side, and then flip.

Oven-baking: Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Add enough flour to the fritters so they are hand-shapable. Don't let the mixture sit too long because you will need to add more flour, which equals less flavor.

Shape into round, flattened patties and place in the pan. Drizzle with olive oil on top and bake until set and golden at 220°C / 428°F. And don't forget to preheat the oven well!

Serve With

Serve Tomatokeftedes with a dollop of Greek yogurt or a Greek dip such as Tzatziki, Tirokafteri (Spicy Feta Cheese Dip), or Htipiti (Red Pepper and Feta Dip).

Recipe