No-Fry Spinach and Feta Fritters

I love cheese. I love most cheese. I'm particularly fond of feta cheese because of how much flavor a small amount can pack into a dish. I also love fritters. Fritters are delightful vegetable patties that are usually deep-fried. And then there's Greek food--obviously, I love that too. What's not to love?

When I came across a recipe for spinach and feta fritters on Closet Cooking (which is full of AWESOME vegetarian recipes, by the way) and I knew I had to make them. After all, I love Greek food, I love feta, and I love fritters so this one was sure to be a hit.



The original recipe requires frying the fritters in two tablespoons of oil on the stove top, which I did the first time I made the fritters, and they were seriously delicious, but then I got to thinking about how to make these fritters lower in fat so that I could enjoy them more frequently. On a whim, I tried cooking these on the stove top with Smart Balance cooking spray instead of the oil and lo and behold--delicious and nutritious low-fat fritters for my mouth!

The original recipe also calls for regular all-purpose flour, which I replaced with whole wheat flour, and I used reduced fat feta. I also mixed up a little creamy dipping sauce to go on the side. With my adjustments, these fritters are amazingly low in fat and full of nutrition.

Adapted from Closet Cooking:

Spinach and Feta Fritters

(makes 2 servings--about 4-5 fritters)

Ingredients:
10 ounces spinach (roughly chopped, cooked and squeezed to drain)
1 handful fresh herbs (I used a mixture of dill and mint)
2 green onions (sliced)
1/4 cup reduced fat feta (crumbled)
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
Smart Balance cooking spray

Directions:
1. Mix the spinach, herbs, onions, feta, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl.
2. Mix in the flour. (Note: You want to mix in enough flour that the mixture will hold its form when "fried.")
3. Liberally spray a pan with Smart Balance cooking spray.
4. Shape the spinach mixture into patties and cook in the pan until golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side.

Dipping Sauce:
2 tbsp reduced fat sour cream
1/4 chopped cucumber
Dash of paprika

Enjoy these alongside a fresh summer tomato sprinkled with sea salt, a crisp salad, or do what I did with the leftovers the next day, and top two fritters with a medium-well done egg for an awesome and filling lunch!