Is there such a thing as healthy fast food? McDonald's would like to argue this point, but in general I say no. Unless, of course, you decide to make your own home-takeaway-food. This obviously defeats the purpose of the term 'fast food' but at least you know what you're putting in your mouth (tee hee) and you have total control on ingredients without the subservient takeaway staff conveniently forgetting to omit all the ingredients you asked them to take out when you ordered.
Seeing as it's Friday and I didn't want to put a great deal of effort into dinner tonight seeing as it's the beginning of the weekend, I grabbed two tins of chickpeas out of the pantry and mashed the heck out of them to make some chickpea patties. And before you judge the fact that these burgers have absolutely no meat in them, trust me - they are seriously delicious, seriously filling and seriously good.
Don't knock it until you've tried it.
chickpea burgers with chargrilled capsicum and tzatziki
patties
800g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 handful parsley, chopped
2tbsp moroccan spice
salt and pepper, to taste
tzatziki
1/2 cup unsweetened greek yoghurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup cucumber, diced
1tbsp lemon juice
fillings
1 red capsicum, seeded and cut into thick slices
tin beetroot, sliced
lebanese cucumber, sliced
rocket leaves
tomato, sliced
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Place capsicum in an oven tray and cover with a generous amount of olive oil. Bake for 1 hour or until softened and slightly charred. Remove from oven and place on paper towel to soak up excess oil. Set aside.
To make the patties, place the chickpeas in a large bowl and mash until smooth. Add the parsley, oil, spice, salt and peper and use your hands to combine. Add the egg and breadcrumbs as needed until mixture comes together and holds in a ball. Roll out into five-six patties and flatten slightly. Fry in a large frying pan over low-medium heat with a little but of olive oil. You don't need to overcook as you only need to ensure they are warmed throughout.
For the tzatziki, combine the yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice and cucumber in a jug and stir until well combined. Refrigerate until needed.
Arrange the patties in a soft bun with burger fillings of your choice and a generous amount of tzatziki to top it all off. Eat knowing there's hardly any guilt or saturated fat in these bad boys (or is it good boys?).
Excuse the bad image. I was so keen to eat it I couldn't possibly spend any time trying to capture the right angle.
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