Chickpea burgers

These tasty chickpea burgers are easy to make and brilliant for a healthy family dinner. The burgers are freezer friendly so perfect for making ahead. They’re also vegan if you serve with dairy-free yoghurt, coconut would work particularly well.

Ingredients

• 3-4 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 100g/3½oz hummus
• 50g/2oz plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 50g/2oz pine nuts or cashews

To serve

• 8 pitta breads, warmed
• mixed green salad
• 8 tbsp plain yoghurt (optional)
• 8 tsp chilli sauce

Method for Chickpea burgers

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry gently for 4-5 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly. Stir in the cumin and coriander and fry for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

2. Place in a food processor, add half of the chickpeas and all of the hummus and flour. Season with salt and pepper. Blend to a rough paste.

3. Add the remaining chickpeas and the pine nuts. Pulse for a few seconds until the chickpeas and pine nuts have broken down but retain some texture. Season to taste.

4. Divide the chickpea mixture into 8 portions. Roll each into a ball, flatten between your palms into a burger shape approximately 1.5cm/½in thick.

5. Heat the remaining oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Add the burgers in batches and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown and crisp on both sides and heated through.

6. Serve the burgers in pitta breads stuffed with salad leaves, with a dollop of yoghurt and chilli sauce alongside.

Chickpea burgers