Tuscan chickpea and spinach fritters
Serves 4
Protein-packed chickpea fritters
with spinach and rosemary. Delicious served as a fritter with salad,
and they also make super tasty veggie burger patties.
8 oz (230g) dried chickpeas
(garbanzo beans)
1 onion — diced
1 garlic clove — roughly chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup packed fresh spinach — finely chopped
6 tablespoons olive oil, for frying
SOAK the chickpeas overnight in plenty
of cold water, covered, on the kitchen bench (the dried chickpeas
will swell to around 3 cups worth of soaked chickpeas). DRAIN the
chickpeas well and place in a food processor. PULSE until they form
a roughly chopped mixture. ADD the onion, garlic, tomato paste,
rosemary, salt and pepper and pulse more, scraping the sides
occasionally, until the ingredients are well combined and the
mixture holds together. TRANSFER the mixture into a bowl and stir in
the spinach, then let the mixture rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
HEAT 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium
heat. FORM the mixture into 8 fritters using the palm of your hand
to flatten slightly (dampen your hands first to help prevent
sticking). FRY half the fritters for 5 minutes on each side until
crisp and golden. REPEAT the process with the remaining olive oil
and fritters.
Serving ideas: You can serve these fritters with salad and
crusty bread, or between sliced ciabatta bread with tomato, red
onion, arugula (rocket), shaved Parmesan cheese and either
pesto-mayo or aioli. They're also delicious stuffed in pita pickets
with salad vegetables, chili sauce (like sriracha) and feta or
grilled halloumi cheese, which provides a salty cheesy contrast to
the spinach. The fritters taste equally as good served in regular
buns with traditional burger fixings like cheese, lettuce, tomato,
onion, ketchup and mustard.
© MediterrAsian.com