Almost Turkish Recipes

Oven Baked Zucchini Fritters (Fırında Kabak Mücver)



Mücver, if you ask me, is "the" zucchini dish. It is usually fried and served with yogurt, especially garlicy yogurt on hot summer days (here is a link to  the fried version: recipe.) However, my mom always bakes mücver, because it is healthier and lighter. I devour them either way; however, baked mucver is also great the next day as a left over served cold. We have oven baked zucchini fritter as a snack for afternoon tea-time or sometimes for post-beach lunch with yogurt and dinner with salad on the side. The recipe is my mom's.



2-3 medium size zucchinis, grated (3 cups approximately), excessive water squeezed 
3 eggs
1/2 cup crumbled white cheese/ feta
1/3 or 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped or 3 tbsp dried mint flakes
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
1/3 cup dill, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup oil (sunflower, canola, corn, olive oil, etc)
~1 -  1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tbsp ground pepper or less
1 tbsp crushed pepper flakes (I think it adds a nice kick if you like spicy food)
salt (how much salt you need depends on how salty your white cheese is)

-Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
-Pour the mix in a well greased or parchment paper lined oven pan. It should be thin-ish layer, max 1- 1 1/4 inch. 
-Bake in a preheated oven at 380F for approximately an hour, until golden brown on top and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
-Have I mentioned it's good with yogurt on the side.

optional: sprinkle 1/2 to 1 cup of grated cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, etc) on top 5 minutes before it's done. This is great if you will finish it all that day. Cheese tends to get really hard when you have them as left overs.


24 comments:

  1. Fantastic! This sounds so, so good. I'm saving the recipe right now.

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  2. This sounds really good. I like the idea of having it as afternoon snack.

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  3. Delicious! A bit like a feta and zucchini frittata. I love dishes like this for light and easy dinners, too.

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  4. I really miss all the fresh garden ingredients during our Canadian winters. This recipe has been bookmarked so that I can make it in the summer!!!

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  5. This is a poster-post for healthy food!

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  6. Oh, that looks so fabulous. I'm with Bellini Valli - "only" 6 more months to zucchini season.

    Damn.

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  7. Anonymous4:52 AM

    Sounds like a great recipe!

    There are zucchinis in the markets now here in Jordan. I'm not sure if they're in season here, or imported. I'm still not familiar with the growing season here.

    We went to Istanbul a few months ago and loved it!

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  8. this looks lovely. i've just been to Turkey for the first time over new year (Cappadocia and Istanbul) and loved the freshness of the food - lots of lemon juice and fresh yogurt. Came across your blog looking for a menemen recipe -it's really great

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  9. Just as good the next day in my lunch box!

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  10. Merhaba, sitenizi blogger'da en iyi yemek ve en iyi fotograf dalında aday gösterdim. Siz de oylayın, banner da kullanırsanız daha çok reklam olur. Kültürümüzü yaymak için verdiğiniz emekten ötürü sizi tebrik ederim.

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  11. kalyn-I hope you like it.

    simona-it's really good even when it's cold

    lydia-I agree, and I love having tea (Turkish, of course) with light dinners.

    bellini and fertzy-I just couldn't wait for the summer

    cynthia- thanks!

    musical chef-i'm glad you liked istanbul, yet it's impossible not to

    lydia-we're a little crazy about our yogurt. for ex. I cannot have any meal without it.

    beezer-i think i like it more the next day :)

    meliha-cok cok tesekkur ederim!

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  12. I just made this for my family, but I forgot to add the oil. I loved it without the oil, and I wonder what difference you think the oil makes in the dish? Is it less fluffy? My family wants this again - thanks for the delightful recipe!

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  13. Hi Debra, I'm glad you and your family enjoyed zucchini fritters. I am not sure what difference oil makes, because I haven't had it without oil. It might make it mroe moist. If you liked it without oil, I don't see any problem.

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  14. Anonymous2:31 AM

    These fritters are really good and much lighter than the fried type. I made them for my Turkish boyfriend and he loved them! I added a grated carrot for color and used less dill and they turned out well. Thanks for the recipe.

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  15. Burcu,

    I made this today and it was absolutely delicious. I have eaten a good half of it, though I intended it to last a couple days. For next time, I wonder how to get the beyaz penir in chunks smaller than 0.4 cc for a smoother texture

    Cheers,

    Jason

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  16. Jason, that's exactly what happens when I make this; gone in a blink of an eye. For smaller beyaz peynir or feta, smash them with the back of a fork. You can even add a splash of water to make it smoother.

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  17. Hi,

    I made this tonight, and used one tablespoon of black pepper as suggested... I think it was too overpowering. My nose started to run!

    Is this common? I was wondering if it's traditionally this spicy to balance out the yogurt. Granted I didn't have any...

    Although I'm going to try this again since I always have a bunch of parsely lying around..

    Thanks!

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  18. This sounds so good! What do you mean when you say a greased oven pan?...a round pan, a 9 x 13?

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  19. a round pan or a 9X13 would do

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  20. I was inspired to make zucchini fritters by your post. However, I made individual ones - they came out very well. Thanks for the idea.

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  21. This sounds lovely, I'm going to make some and see if my very fussy babies will eat it :)

    -Ellie @ Mammy Made

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  22. Kavita2:37 PM

    I just make this to have with my afternoon tea and it was delicious! The kids enjoyed it as well. Can't wait to make it this summer with fresh herbs from the garden.

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  23. Anonymous12:33 PM

    Great article.

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  24. What size dish are people using or diameter - glass or metal?

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