Chickpea fritters with Tzatziki

WW 4.5pt

serves 4

prep: 15mins

cooking: 10 mins

1 x 40g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup skim milk
3/4 cup self raising flour
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup frozen corn kernels
4 green shallots, trimmed, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbs fresh flat leaf parsley
1 x 125g tub low fat tzatziki


Pulse chickpeas in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add eggs and pulse, continuing to add milk, flour and cumin while pulsing. 
Fold in corn, shallots, garlic and parsley.
Lightly spray a large non-stick fry pan with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Using 1/4 cup mixture for each fritter, form 4 fritters in the pan. Cook for 2-3 mins  each side or until golden, risen and cooked through. 
Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining mix to make 12 fritters.


Serve warm or cold with salad and tzatziki

Curried Chickpea Patties

WW 4pt

serves 4

1 x 300g chicpeas, risnsed and drained

2 cups (460g) leftover mashed potato

100g green beans, thinly sliced

1 tbs curry powder

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup (12g) finely chopped coriander

1 tbs canola oil

80g baby spinach leaves

250g grape tomatoes

2/3 cup (190g) reduced fat Greek-style yoghurt

Pulse chickpeas in a food processor until roughly chopped. Transfer to a large bowl. Add mashed potato, beans, curry powder, egg and coriander. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Stir until well combined.

Using 1/4 cup of mixture at a time, shape mixture into 12 patties. Heat oil in large non-stick frying pan over medium heat.  Cook patties for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden. Serve with spinach leaves, grape tomatoes and a dollop of reduced fat yoghurt.

Moroccan Chickpea and Spinach Soup

WW 1.5

serves 4

2 tsp olive oil
1 medium brown onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp Moroccan spice mix
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 x 135 tubs apricots
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 litre vegetable stock
400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 bunch english spinach, washed, trimmed, shredded


Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and spice mix and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until fragrant


Add tomato paste, undrained apricots, rind, lemon juice, stock and chickpeas. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.


Blend chickpea mixture with a stick blender to the consistency you prefer (blend briefly to retain some texture or blend until smooth for a creamy taste). Add spice and cook, stirring, over  medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve.


Serving suggestion:
Serve with a dollop of low-fat natural yoghurt.




Cooks notes:
Perfect for a snack, or a starter.
When I made this, I didn't use the lemon rind.
Instead of Moroccan spice mix, I found a tin of Moroccan spiced chickpeas! No need to drain!  Perfect and tasted fantastic!
I also don't own a stick blender (or any blender for that matter), so I used an electric beater. I don't know if it "blended" it, or made any difference at all.