Keftedes is the name taken by the Greek meatballs and therefore tomatokeftedes means meatballs or hamburgers of tomato. They are typical of the island of Santorini. Santorini is an island famous for having occurred on it, around 1600 BC, the largest explosion of volcanic origin that is remembered from the historical period. Such was the brutality of it that the tsunami that was generated devastated the nearby island of Crete and with it the Minoan civilization.
The island of Santorini - what remains of it - is obviously rich in volcanic substrates which, as in the Canaries, produces high quality vegetables, including tomatoes.
Tomatokeftedes combine tomatoes, onion and feta cheese without containing meat or eggs. They are usually eaten in mezze, a collection of various appetizers that, like Spanish tapas, can constitute a complete meal. The usual way to eat tomatokeftedes is by dipping them in a tsatsiki sauce or directly in Greek yogurt.
INGREDIENTS (for about 4 or 5 tomatokeftedes):
- 4 ripe red tomatoes, large if possible
- 100 grams of feta cheese (a bit less than half a cup, 3.5 oz)
- 1 large red onion
- 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon minced oregan
- 1 teaspoon minced mint
- 50 grams of white flour (about half a cup, 1.7 oz)
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
First we are going to peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds. We cut the remaining pulp into small cubes and salt them, leaving them in a drainer for at least half an hour. In this way with the salt they will lose part of the water and the mixture that we will make later will not be liquid.
We grate the onion and mix it with the tomatoes. We add the aromatic herbs and the crumbled feta cheese. With our hands we make a first dough.
In a separate bowl we mix the flour with the yeast. When it is well mixed, we take it to the bowl of tomatoes, onion and feta cheese and knead it again, seasoning it. When the dough is firm enough, we make slightly squashed balls. If it is not very firm we can add a little more flour.
In a deep frying pan we add oil (to get half an inch depth or a bit less) and when it is very hot we fry the keftedes until they are golden brown. Be care when frying. Do not leave them unattended, because they can get burn very easily.
We deposit them on absorbent paper and ready to eat.
Surely it is a recipe that you will make more than once!