These crispy tomato donuts taste like summer on a Greek island
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/20250731-Tomatokeftedes-Qi-Ai-hero-horizontal-angled-D-b47c601622fe4957958412324184c20e.jpg)
Why does it work
- By combining chopped and grated tomatoes in the dough, the donut gives both a rich, even tomato taste and juicy bites of fresh tomatoes.
- The summer tomatoes of the peak season bring the best taste, but the recipe also adapts well to tomatoes outside of the season.
Imagine you are sitting on a quiet beach in Greece on a hot summer day. The clear, cool sea gently slides over the small gray rock that puncture the coast, the water a perfect turquoise shade. With the highlight of the afternoon, it is time for a long, cozy lunch. A Taverna table is equipped with sunlight. You order a Greek salad, grilled fish, fried potatoes and a MEZE spread. Under the dishes there is a plate of vegetable donuts – still warm and glittered out of the oil, its golden edges irresistible. Immersed in spicy yogurt, they are the ideal companion of the salt air and slow summer pace.
Why donuts belong in summer
This scene may sound romantic, but it speaks for a truth: vegetable scraps are one of the best summer dishes, regardless of their surroundings. They are a delicious and practical way to make the best of the peak times, and their attractiveness extends over many kitchens, the Greek table among them.
Serious eating / qi -ai
Meet Ntototokefetes: Greek tomato donuts
One of my favorite Greek donuts is ντοματοκεφτέδες, written as ntomatokeftedes (tomato donut) in English. NTOMATOKEBEFTES, also Tomatokftedes, are among the most famous vegetable scrapes in Greece, a popular specialty from Santorini. The dry climate and volcanic floor of the island result in tomatoes with a concentrated taste and minimal water content, perfect for donuts. You will also find versions on many Greek islands, especially on the neighboring cycladic islands and on the Greek mainland.
The term beefedes is often connected to each other with Meatballs. Nevertheless, it also refers to a small fried round in Greek – whether it is made of zucchini (Kolokithokftedes), chickpeas (Revithokftes) or as in this case tomatoes.
The best tomatoes for Greek tomato donuts
One of the joys of this recipe is its flexibility. Did you violate tomatoes from the market? A few under stripes that bumped on the counter? Use them. Juicier tomatoes may need additional flour, while firmer is less needed. And although these are best made with ripe fruits in summer, forgive enough to satisfy tomato hot hunger outside of the season.
Serious eating / qi -ai
A croup built on lush tomatoes
In contrast to many donuts, such as Zucchini donutsthat require to squeeze moisture out of the main vegetable to achieve crispness, hug their juicy star ingredients. This recipe compensates for the natural moisture tomato with flour, eggs, herbs and salted feta to generate a spoonable dough that is packed directly to hot oil – no fishing design required.
The texture of the dough is the key. It should be somewhere between loose tuna salad and a thick, Schuopen dip like Tzatziki. If the dough feels too loose after mixing – in the housing with juicy, mature tomatoes – they each use a tablespoon of flour until it only holds its shape without becoming stiff or cake -like. I like to use a mixture of chopped and grated tomatoes in my donuts. The chopped tomatoes produce taste and lively red spots on the surface, while the grated tomato gives the donuts an even sunburn and a lush tomato taste.
Serve the donuts
As soon as the donuts were fried into a deep golden red, the donuts are best served with a spacious dash of Greek yoghurt with full fat -rich yogurt. Crispy, harmful and rich in tomatoes, herbs and feta and are an ideal starter or meze.
Another great thing about this recipe is how easy to adapt it is to everything that is in your crisp star vegetables: choose a star vegetables, combine it with herbs, aromatics, cheese, egg and flour and fry it until golden brown. It will not physically transport them to Santorini, but it will take their taste buds there.
These crispy tomato donuts taste like summer on a Greek island
Cooking mode
(Keep your screen awake)
12 Ounce Tomato ((340 G; around 3 medium Tomato), shared
1/2 medium Yellow Onion ((4 Ounce; 113 G), Dice
4 Ounce ((112 G))) Sheep’s milk feta cheese (See notes)
1 ounce ((28 G) Fresh flat leaf Parsley Leaves and delicate stems, roughly hacked (approximately 1/2 cup)))
1/2 ounce ((15 G) fresh dill Wedel, roughly hacked (approximately 1/2 cup)))
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano Or Marjoram
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Diamond crystal kosher salt; Use half as much of the volume for table salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
3/4 cup All -purpose flour ((3.3 Ounce; 93 G)))
4 Cup ((960 ML))) Neutral oil for roastingLike saflor, sunflower or avocado oil (see notes)
Simple milk-yoghurt yoghurt yoghurt (Greek) style Optional for serving
For the dough: Roughly chop 8 ounces of tomatoes (approx. 2 tomatoes) and either pulsate carefully in the mixer or kitchen machine until they are only combined or on large shaft hills over a bowl and the blades are aligned.
Serious eating / qi -ai
Carefully chop excess tomato skin after shredding. Put the tomato shredded tomato in a large bowl. Dice 4 ounces tomato (approx. 1 tomato) in 1/4 inch pieces and put them in the bowl with a crushed tomato. (You should have about 1 1/2 cups of tomatoes.)
Serious eating / qi -ai
Add onions, feta, parsley, dill, thyme, dried oregano or marjoram, egg, salt and pepper to tomatoes and stir it to combine. Use the back of a large spoon to disassemble feta into blueberry size. Slowly add flour 1/4 cup (30 g) after the other until the fritter dough is loose, but does not run, similar to a loose tuna salad. The dough should be set enough to draw on a spoon and rest and barely keep its shape without falling off, but not excessively thick or cake -like. Set aside.
Serious eating / qi -ai
To roast the donuts: Place a framed baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels and put them aside. In a 10-inch cast iron pan or a Dutch oven, add oil (oil should measure 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep) and heat up with medium high oil until oil is registered on an immediate or deep thermometer 350 ° F (175 ° C). As soon as the oil reaches 350 ° F, lower the heat to medium. Let the five 1/4 cup dough fall into the pan with a 1/4-cup of dry measuring mug, which are evenly separated from one another, with a spoon of dough in hot oil.
Serious eating / qi -ai
Fry, adjust heat as required to maintain the oil temperature about 300 to 350 ° F (150 to 175 ° C). Note that some loud, strong blisters are common if donuts of initial contact with oil are established. Fry the donuts for 10 seconds, then give a gentle impetus underneath with a fork to ensure that you are not on the pan. You should float and hover slightly when roasting. Fry to deep golden brown on the outside and yellow-orange from the inside, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
Serious eating / qi -ai
Use a slotted spoon to transmit donuts and let excess oil in the pan to capture the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and let it sit for at least 2 minutes to cool down. Return oil to 175 ° C, set the heat as required and repeat the roasts in batches of 5 each. Let the last batch sit 2 minutes after removing oil and serve immediately, accompanied by one side of the yogurt to dive if necessary.
Serious eating / qi -ai
Special equipment
Mixer or food processor or box grater, 10-inch
Notes
Choose an oil with A High smoke point. I recommend saflor, sunflower or avocado oil because they are neutral in taste.
Sheep milk feta or sheep’s milk feta with a little goat milk that is packed in salt lake is best similar to the taste of the Greek feta. Cow milk feta is usually dry and does not offer a comparable creamy, salty taste.
Make-based and storage
The tomatoes, fresh herbs and onions can be preferred up to 1 day in front of them and kept in separate airtight containers in the fridge.
The donuts are best served immediately, but remnants can be cooled in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Heat on a baking sheet lined with paper with paper in a 180 ° C-oven for 5 to 7 minutes.
