Cupboard magic – Chickpea fritters

The convenience of having cupboard essentials is bliss. When you get home and there is nothing in the fridge that takes your fancy, because you had no time to go shopping earlier, you run to the cupboard to find help. And there it is: a can of chickpeas and a can of sweetcorn. My saviours.

Three weeks ago, we cooked a chickpea fritter at FoodCycle that everyone in the team approved. I decided to adapt the recipe in my own kitchen. A bit of a throw-together and there you have it - a nutritious meal. 

Sieve the flour in a bowl, add egg and milk. Whisk well.

Add spices...

...a drizzle of olive oil and all the rest of ingredients.

Place the fritters gently in the pan.

Cook them for a few minutes on each side.

Enjoy your fritters with some slices of avocado on the side and fresh salad leaves.

Chickpea and sweetcorn fritters

Makes 8-10 fritters

These fritters  are a great source of fibre - which encourages movement in your digestive system. They also contain protein and carbohydrate, making them a well balanced snack or a good light meal when paired with fresh salad, for example.

Ingredients

90g spelt flour, plain white flour, or gram flour for a gluten-free option  

½ teaspoon baking powder (optional)

1 organic egg

A drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

60ml organic milk (cow’s or oat)

1 teaspoon of cumin

½ teaspoon of smoked paprika (use more if you like it really spicy).

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

140g chickpea

100g sweetcorn

3 spring onions, chopped

2 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped

1 handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil for shallow frying.

Sea salt and black pepper

Method

Sieve the flour and baking powder in a big bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Beat the egg and milk with the flour mixture. Drizzle a bit of olive oil. Add all the other ingredients, apart from the olive oil. Pour the oil into a large frying pan, on a medium to high heat. Using a tablespoon, scoop the mixture and place it gently in the pan. Repeat the process until you have 3-4 fritters on the go. Cook them for a few minutes on each side until light brown - if they start to get burn, lower the heat. 

Serve them with avocado slices and fresh salad leaves as a light lunch, or with salsa or yogurt sauce as a snack.

A healthy note: Chickpea or garbanzo (Cicer arietinum) is the most nutritious of all the legumes. It is very good for your pancreas, stomach and heart. It is high in protein, fat and carbohydrate. It contains very good levels of iron (more than other legumes), calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and B vitamins, and especially folic acid (B9). Sprouted chickpea contains vitamin C and enzymes. 

Sweetcorn (Zea mays): If you can, choose organic and non-GMO corns. Corns contain dietary fibre which alleviates constipation and haemorrhoids. It is rich in vitamins B1, B3 and B5 (panthontenic acid), that are necessary for metabolism of carbohydrates as well as for the metabolism of protein and fat.

You can also check other chickpea recipes here, here or here.

 

Till next week!