Two Sisters On A Boat Mucver – Zucchini Fritters Version II

Over the summer, my family and I took a trip to Kaş, a lovely seaside town on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. My most memorable day of the trip was on a boat that took us along the coast to old fishing villages and ancient Lycian, Greek, and Roman ruins. The boat was owned and operated by a man and wife team, along with her sister. The sisters did all the cooking. I enjoyed everything their talented hands made – Turkish ratatouille, mucver, bulgur pilaf with vegetables, charcoal grilled whole fish and many other dishes. I loved their mucver so much that I asked them for the ingredients. The lovely sisters were happy to share it with me, and I went home inspired enough to try to recreate it myself. I think I worked it out.  ☺️

It’s different from my mother-in-law’s mucver recipe in that the sisters add carrots and parsley and omit cheese. They are both, however, delicious. This dish is usually served as an appetizer, but it would also be a lovely lunch, especially stuffed in the pita bread with some sliced tomatoes…..yum!

This recipe makes about 15 fritters. It takes about 45 minutes to make from scratch, which includes the time it takes for the zucchini to sit in salt to drain out the water. I used a food processor to make easy work of shredding the zucchini and finely chopping the onions and carrots. Once all the ingredients are ready, it’s easy mix it all together and start frying the fritters. Frying the fritters only takes about four minutes on each side and you are ready to serve. Alternatively, you can make them ahead and they’ll keep in the fridge for a few days or freeze and re-heat them when you have guests.

Our amazing lunch on boat off the coast of Kaş, Turkey

The seaside town of Kaş, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey

This is how our fish was prepared!

Here is the recipe:

Here is what you need:

• 3 zucchinis, shredded
• 1 tsp. salt for zucchini, and additional 1 tsp. for the fritter batter
• two medium sized carrots, finally chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• one bunch dill, or about 1/2 cup chopped
• 1/2 cup of chopped flat-leafed parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 eggs
• a few rounds of black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Aleppo pepper, or red pepper flakes

Here’s how to put it together:

Grate the zucchini. I use the shredder attachment with my food processor because I find it easiest and fastest. Place the grated zucchini in a colander with a bowl underneath and mix 1 tsp. of salt into it. The salt will help rid the zucchini of excess water.  Let it sit for about 20 minutes. Using your hands or paper towel, squeeze out the excess water. Quite a bit of water will come out.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together – zucchini, carrots, onions, garlic, dill, parsley,  flour, eggs, black pepper and 1 tsp. of salt.

In a large frying pan, heat about a 1/2 cup of oil over medium-high heat. Using a small ladle or a serving spoon, spoon about three tablespoons of batter into the hot oil. You can shape the batter to make sure it’s round in the pan. Fry for about 4 minutes on each side. If you feel the batter is browning too fast, lower the heat to medium.