Food

The Milos “Special” (Fried Zucchini and Eggplant Chips) with Tzatziki

By Amy Rosen On September 25th, 2024

From the H&H archives, the airy vegetable chips are stacked around fresh-made tzatziki and sided with oozing fried cheese.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Tzatziki

1/2 large English cucumber, seeded and shredded
1/4 tsp sea salt
150 mL Greek goat’s milk yogurt
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp Greek extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

Vegetable Chips

Canola oil, for shallow frying
1/2 medium zucchini, sliced paper-thin
1/2 small Italian eggplant, sliced paper-thin
All-purpose flour, for coating vegetables and cheese
1/2 cup fresh oregano, roughly chopped
Sea salt to taste
5 oz. kefalotyri or kefalograviera cheese, cut into slices (Kefalotyri is a sharp goat’s milk cheese, while kefalograviera is a salty sheep’s milk; both are sold in cheese shops and Greek food shops. If you can’t find either, substitute aged Asiago)

Directions

To make tzatziki, sprinkle shredded cucumber with sea salt. Set aside in a colander and let drain for 1 hour.
In a bowl, combine yogurt, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To make vegetable chips, pour 1″ to 2″ oil into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan (a wok will also work) and heat oil to 350ºF.
Place zucchini and eggplant slices in a bowl of warm water. Working with a few slices at a time, remove from water and shake off excess, coat with flour and shake off excess. Dip slices back in the water, then carefully place into the hot oil. Watch out — the water will cause the oil to splatter. Fry vegetable slices until crisp and golden brown, then, using a skimmer or slotted spoon, remove chips and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with sea salt and oregano; set aside.
To make fried cheese, cut slices into quarters. Dip quarters in water, then flour. Repeat dipping in water and flour 3 more times, finishing with the flour. Using the same saucepan used for vegetable chips, fry cheese quarters in hot oil (if needed, add more oil to saucepan) until golden brown; drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt.
Just before serving, beat the tzatziki sauce with a wooden spoon until smooth. Dry the cucumber by gently squeezing it between paper towels and stir into tzatziki.
To serve, place a mound of tzatziki in the middle of four appetizer plates. Carefully stack the vegetable chips around the tzatziki, forming a tall circular tower. Place fried cheese slices around the base of the vegetable tower. Serve at once.

Written By