Chickpea Fritters

Crisp chickpea fritters with parsley, cumin and lemon, shallow-fried until golden and tender inside.

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Using mashed cooked chickpeas makes these fritters faster than falafel while still giving them a hearty Mediterranean flavour.

Ingredients

• 480 g canned chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 1 egg (large)
• 50 g plain flour
• 0.5 red onion (finely diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 25 g fresh parsley (chopped)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 0.5 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 0.75 tsp salt
• 0.25 tsp black pepper
• 3 tbsp olive or neutral oil (for frying)

Step-by-step method

1. Pat the chickpeas dry, then place them in a bowl and mash with a fork until mostly broken down but still slightly textured.
2. Add the egg, flour, onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, coriander, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Mix until the mixture holds together when pressed.
3. Leave the mixture for 10 minutes so the flour can absorb moisture. If it still feels very wet, add 1 extra tablespoon flour.
4. Shape into 10–12 small patties with damp hands and place them on a plate.
5. Heat half the oil in a wide non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the fritters in batches without crowding the pan.
6. Cook for 3–4 minutes per side until deeply golden and hot through. Add more oil between batches as needed.
7. Drain briefly on kitchen paper and serve warm with yogurt, tahini sauce or a tomato-cucumber salad.