We had some leftover canned chickpeas. What do you do with leftover chickpeas? We had made hummus, we made some soup, but we still have about a cup of chick peas lef tover. Now what? Well, we decided that we would take the plunge into a Veffa cookbook (Veffa's Kitchen) and see what Veffa would do with revithia (Greek word for chickpeas). Fritters! Of course! We read her recipe, and then decided that we knew more or less how to make fritters, and we could "wing it" without needing exact amounts. We saw the ingredient list she used, and that was more important than knowing if we had 1/2 teaspoon of something. As we looked through the fridge, we realized that we had the onion, the tomato sauce, the mint, and the chick peas. Then, we grabbed our self-rising flour and decided to go for it! We had about 30 minutes to complete this recipe, so we were very focused in our task. (It did not take all 30 minutes, but we did not make too many fritters). And, good thing, too, because these made the perfect appetizers for unexpected company!
For this recipe, you will need:
About 1/2 can of chickpeas
1/2 onion, chopped fine
6-8 mint leaves
salt and pepper to taste
about 1/2 cup tomato sauce (we used a San Marzano tomato puree)
some self-rising flour (maybe 1 cup, a little less)
So, we were winging it, remember, and we tried to make it easy for everyone who follows. First, you mash up the chick peas. Using a potato masher works well because it separates the skins from the peas and leaves some of the revitiha whole or slightly smashed. This really contributes to the varying texture that we love in food.
Chop the onion to a fine dice. You don't want discernible pieces of onion to jump out of the fritter, since they are chickpea fritters - chickpeas should be the focus. Add the onion to the smashed chickpeas and mix well.
Next, chop the mint. We have mentioned before about lining up the leaves of any herb, rolling them into a cigar shape cylinder and cutting fine, ribbon-like pieces, so do that. You want the mint chopped fine so that it is distributed throughout the fritter. Now, add the mint to the mixture and mix well.
At this point, you can stop using the potato masher and switch to a spoon. One of our favourite cooking utensils that we use for so many things is the rubber spatula. It is probably one of four utensils we cannot live without! So, add the mint and mix everything together.
Now, pour some tomato sauce into the mixture. You want to add enough that the mix is wet, but not runny. The consistency should be like cooked oatmeal. Add a little salt and pepper and taste the mix to find out if you need more salt, pepper, or even mint. Adjust your seasonings to your taste.
Then, add the flour. Sprinkle some flour into the mixing bowl and fold it all together. You want to use the folding method here so that you don't over mix and have chewy fritters. You will know that you have added enough flour once the mixture begins holding its shape without falling down the sides of the bowl. The batter will be firm, but not runny or dry. You should have made a very soft dough instead of a runny batter. Allow this mixture to sit for 15 minutes, while you heat up the oil.
Pour some frying oil (vegetable, canola, or peanut oil) into a pan. Using a pot is nice because it gives depth to the frying area, which is helpful when frying fritters. Heat the oil to the point when you drop some of the fritter mixture into the hot oil, the fritter will sink to the bottom and then immediately surface. If the fritter mixture does not surface, the oil is not hot enough! There shouldn't be any splatters, either. That would mean that the oil is too hot.
Using the two spoon method, scoop some of the fritter batter into one spoon. Working the ball back and forth between spoons will form an oblong, almost football-shaped fritter (the North American type of football). Drop that in the hot oil. Allow the fritters to fry for 3- 5 minutes on the first side. You should turn them over in the pan of oil, so that both sides turn a nice golden colour. Or, you can ladle the hot oil over the top side. It is easy to flip them over -- it's just not easy making the fritters stay!
Once the fritters have turned light brown on each side, pull them from the oil and place them on a paper towel to drain any excess oil. Serve warm as a dinner entree or as an appetiser.
We liked these fritters. The should have sat a little longer to make them a bit more airy. Self-rising flour needs time to rise, and that entire 30 minute rest would have helped. But, we did not have 30 minutes, and these turned out fine. They could have been more airy, yes, but we did not have any leftovers, so we know they were tasty! We also think that we could have added a little garlic. Surprisingly, Veffa's recipe did not have garlic. We thought garlic went into every dish with onions, but not this one. Next time, we are going to sneak in some garlic. Lastly, we served these fritters with a piece of lemon nearby for those who thought these may have needed a little something.
These were very tasty. We all enjoyed these modified mezedes, especially the complex textures of the whole chickpeas combined with the mashed ones and the smooth tomato. The lingering hint of mint was a nice surprise. So the next time we make them, a little garlic with our chick peas fritters will take us a long way in flavour.
"Every family should have a room where Christ is welcome in the person of the hungry and thirsty stranger."
St. John Chrysostom
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