Greek tomato fritters

I’m sharing this recipe for Greek tomato fritters, also known as Santorini domatokeftedes with you because my latest issue of EAT IT by hot for food is The Travel Issue inspired by the trips I’ve taken in recent years and the incredible food I discovered along the way.

We ate our weight in these tomato fritters when I went to Greece this past spring. You can watch the entire trip with The Getaway Co. in my vlog here. We actually got a recipe from one of the wineries and shops we had lunch at in Santorini too, but as usual, I modified it slightly.

It’s a very simple recipe that packs a lot of flavor and the tomatoes really get to shine! The local recipes also typically call for basil and mint, but I used oregano instead. Feel free to add mint into the mix or swap it with oregano. It’ll be delicious no matter what! But according to our local Greek guide Nicoletta, cinnamon is a no-no. I swear I could taste cinnamon in the ones we ate on the trip! It’s up to you if you include it or not, but I feel so many things are better when you add cinnamon.

If you want more tomato recipes check out my miso butter tomato sandwich, and homemade pico de gallo!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Greek tomato fritters (Domatokeftedes)

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snacks

Cuisine Greek

Keyword corn fritters, deep fried, tomato, vegetables

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Servings 10 fritters

Author Lauren Toyota

Ingredients

fritters

• about 6 roma tomatoes (about 2 1/2 C chopped)
• generous pinch sea salt
• 1 C finely chopped red onion
• ½ C finely chopped fresh basil
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

herby yogurt dipping sauce

• 1 C plain unsweetened vegan yogurt
• ¼ tsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp finely chopped basil
• 1 tbsp finely chopped oregano
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Place chopped tomatoes in a colander and sprinkle and toss with a generous pinch of sea salt. Place this in the sink and allow the tomatoes to drain tomatoes for about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile you can make the dipping sauce. Combine plain vegan yogurt with lemon zest, chopped herbs, green onion and sea salt and ground pepper to taste. Making this one day in advance is also recommended to develop the flavors further.
3. Once the tomatoes have drained you can shake the colander gently to strain out the excess water but there’s no need to squeeze the tomatoes or anything. Pour the tomatoes into a mixing bowl. Add chopped red onion, basil oregano, sugar, cinnamon, sea salt, and ground pepper. Mix to combine. Then add in the flour and baking powder. Combine with your hands to mix well. Refrigerate this for 45 minutes to 1 hour. This should look a little more loose or wet after sitting in the fridge but still stick well together.
4. When ready to fry the fritters, add neutral vegetable oil to a large cast iron pan or skillet and heat over medium to medium-high. This is a shallow fry, so there should be about 1/4-inch of oil in the pan.

5. Using about 1/4 cup of mixture for each fritter (you could use slightly less if you want to make more), gently place the dollops of fritter dough in the hot oil spaced well apart. Fry for about 4 minutes on each side until very golden brown. Scoop out the fried fritters with a slotted spoon and shake off excess oil over the pan, before transferring to a paper towel lined baking sheet. Fry the remaining fritters in batches until the dough is all gone. Serve immediately with the herby yogurt dipping sauce and garnish with more fresh herbs if desired.