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Nothing screams light and refreshing better than bright, lemony Mediterranean food. This recipe for Chickpea Fritters with a Lemon-Garlic Aioli and Cucumber Salad certainly brings all the best of the Mediterranean to one healthy, delicious plate.
To make these tasty little fritters, chickpeas are pulsed together with red onions, parsley, and a host of spices to add a little smokiness and a little heat to the dish. An egg, some flour, and cornstarch are added to bind it all together and a little bit of baking powder will give the fritters a bit of a rise. They're then baked instead of fried, making them an easy and healthy option for dinner.
For the dipping sauce, plain aioli is jazzed up with lemon, roasted garlic, and dill to create a sharp, addictingly tasty accompaniment to the fritters.
Note that this recipe calls for making the aioli by hand with a bowl and a whisk but you could also use a blender or food processor, simply stream the oil into the base of the machine as it's running until a thick, homogenous mixture forms.
Finally, a simple salad of cucumbers, red onions, and feta cheese dressed with a little sugar, vinegar, and Greek yogurt finishes off the plate in a delightfully refreshing way.
Cooking with Chickpeas
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a true powerhouse of vegetarian cooking. With a relatively low caloric count, chickpeas pack a hefty load of protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. They're also incredibly versatile, working well in mixtures like this one but also in hummuses, stews, salads, stir fries, and many other preparations.
Be sure when you're working with canned chickpeas to save the liquid from the can. The juice from a can of chickpeas is so chock-full of protein that you can actually whip it to stiff peaks the same way you could whip egg whites.
Whatever way you decide to use them, chickpeas are a valuable ingredient to incorporate into your repertoire.
Mediterranean Chickpea Fritters with Lemon-Garlic Aioli and Cucumber Salad
These baked chickpea fritters, served with creamy herbed aioli, are addictively good. A simple salad rounds off the plate. Serve them for dinner, but make extra for snacks later - you'll want them.
Ingredients
Aioli
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon (zest and juice)
- 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 bunch fresh dill (finely chopped)
- 1 small head garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
Chickpea Fritters
- 1 15.5 oz can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1/2 medium red onion (diced)
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 bunch parsley (roughly chopped)
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cornstarch
Cucumber Salad
- 1 English cucumber (cut into thin half-moons)
- 1/2 medium red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp feta cheese
Directions
Aioli
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Cut the very top off the head of garlic and wrap in foil with a drizzle of olive oil. Roast at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until the cloves become soft and golden brown. Meanwhile, begin making the aioli.
- Whisk the egg yolk, Dijon mustard, and lemon zest and juice together in a bowl. Use a measuring cup, squeeze bottle, or small pitcher to begin incorporating the oil. Start with the canola or vegetable oil. As you stream the oil into the bowl, whisk constantly with your other hand. Continue whisking the oil in a slow, steady stream while whisking constantly. Once all the canola oil is incorporated, add tablespoon of room temperature water to the bowl and whisk. (If the mixture breaks, start over with 1 egg yolk in a clean bowl and slowly stream the broken mixture into the egg yolk.)
- Continue to whisk the olive oil into the bowl in a slow, steady stream until all the oil is incorporated and the mixture is thick and homogenous, resembling mayonnaise. Meanwhile, remove the garlic from the oven and allow to cool.
- Once the garlic is cool, peel and smash the cooked cloves into a paste. Then add the garlic paste and chopped dill into the bowl with the aioli and stir to combine. Season the aioli to taste with salt and pepper and set aside in the fridge.
Chickpea Fritters and Cucumber Salad
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Combine all the ingredients for the fritters in the bowl of a food processor. Lightly pulse the food processor for 1 minute or until all the ingredients are finely chopped together.
- Remove the mixture from the food processor and form into 12 flat, even patties. Each patty should be about two tablespoons worth of the mixture.
- Place the fritters on a lightly greased, parchment-paper lined sheet tray and bake at 375F for 15 minutes. As the fritters are baking, begin to prepare the cucumber salad.
- Place the sliced cucumbers and thinly sliced red onion together in a bowl. Add the sugar, red wine vinegar, and Greek yogurt to the bowl, stir to combine and coat the vegetables. Season the salad to taste with salt and pepper and set aside in the fridge.
- Remove the fritters from the oven. They should be crispy on the outside and slightly browned. Serve with some of the aioli underneath or on the side and with the cucumber salad on the plate. Top the cucumber salad with the crumbled feta cheese.
Notes
Substitutions
1 bunch fresh dill: 1 bunch mint, 1 bunch chives, 1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar: 1 teaspoon apple cider or white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt: 2 tablespoons sour cream
1 medium red onion: 1 medium white onion
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