A load of balls

Some years back I was desperately looking for ideas for food which would satisfy both my young children. Daughter Leah was vegetarian, the type that didn't like vegetables, and son Sandy didn't like anything that was green. So how could I hoodwink them into eating something healthy?

I came across a Greek recipe I found for courgette fritters that was OK but I wasn't convinced, it was a bit bland and very green. So I took the recipe and perked it up a bit by adding soft chewy Mozzarella cheese with some intense flavoured Parmesan. It worked really well and the kids loved them. And so did the customers. They were cheap and easy to make and they froze well, a winner all round. But what should I call them?

Since they were Greek and round I thought of calling them "Hercules Balls" but some of the lady customers were a bit disappointed when they saw how small they were. Obviously size was important. Plain Courgette Balls would just have to do, although in Spanish, I called them, Delicias de Calabacín, which sounded rather more exotic. I have given this recipe to so many people I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up on Mercadona's shelves one of these days by popular demand.

RECIPE (enough for about 20 balls):

1 large courgette

1 medium onion

1 teaspoon salt

1 pkt grated mozzarella

50 g finely grated parmesan

50g breadcrumbs

1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (methi kasura from Indian shops)

1 egg

METHOD:

Grate the courgette and the onion using the large holes of the grater. Sprinkle the salt over the veg. Mix lightly and leave for 20 minutes to allow all the excess liquid to come out. Over a colander, squeeze the veg. between the palms of your hands to extract the excess juices and place it in a mixing bowl. Some will fall into the colander so add that to the bowl as well. Then add the cheese, breadcrumbs and fenugreek and toss lightly so the mixture is well separated. Add the egg and mix lightly with a fork. The mixture mustn't be too compact or the balls won't puff up when fried. Roll into balls the size of a small walnut and toss into more dried breadcrumbs. Deep fry at 160º C until golden.

They taste wonderful with the yoghurt dip below. You can freeze the balls before frying, and have them ready to fry another day. They are best served straight from the fryer, but you can also reheat them slightly in the microwave.

DIP

1 carton of Greek yoghurt

pinch salt

1 tsp dry onion soup mix

pinch dried dill or coriander

Mix all ingredients together.

In the restaurant we arrange the courgette balls on a plate as an appetizer: a little dollop of the dip on the plate for each ball to sit on – to stop it rolling around the plate – and another little dollop on top of each one. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and you have a tasty morsel to go with a glass of wine while you wait for whatever’s coming next.