Honey Roasted Chickpea and Pearl Couscous Patties
A Middle-Eastern inspired riff on veggie burgers: beautiful, garlicky honey roasted chickpeas, fresh basil, chilli, cumin, and little tender orbs of lemon-spiked couscous come together to form the perfect DIY veggie burger. Tasty, quick and wholesome, it’s a great way to use up left over couscous and those cans of chickpeas sitting in the pantry.
1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ cup honey
3 tbsp olive oil
½ cup fresh basil leaves
1 tsp cumin
½ cup pearl couscous (Israeli couscous)
½ red onion, roughly chopped
½ red chilli
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg white
Zest of half a lemon
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ cup polenta
On a baking tray mix together the chickpeas, honey, oil, half the basil leaves, cumin and salt and pepper making sure that all chickpeas are covered in the honey and oil. Pop into the preheated oven for approx. 20-25 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool slightly.
In a small saucepan of boiling water cook the couscous for approx. 10 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside to cool a little.
In a food processor, pulse the onion, remaining basil leaves and garlic until roughly diced. Add the chickpeas and pulse again until the mixture is well combined but still a little chunky. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in the couscous along with the lemon juice and zest. Season to taste.
Shape mixture into 6 small patties and roll in the polenta. Pop in the fridge for 30 minutes or so to firm up before cooking.
Heat a little oil in a large, heavy based frypan over medium-low heat, add the 6 patties, cover and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are golden. Carefully flip the patties and cook the second sides for 7 more minutes, until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
To serve, toast a nice thick slab of sourdough and spread with avocado. Top with cucumber and spinach leaves and then the patty. Dollop with some good quality store-bought babaganoush and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Makes 6 mini patties
That looks so delicious. I can’t tell you how much I love veggie burgers and yours looks fantastic!
Thank you! Your comments are such a delight to receive!
Honey roasted chickpeas sound so much more exciting than anything else! I mean, seriously, I’m tired of all the chana masalas and chickpea salads and curries and hummus that keep flying through the air.
Your photographs are great!
Amrita, I agree.. too often do I find myself dissatisfied with plain old chickpea patties – dry, dense and bland, you know the ones… the honey and slight toastiness that comes from roasting them really peps it up.
These sound fantastic! The pomegranate is a nice touch, I’m sure the flavour would pair well. Makes it look pretty too
This recipe looks incredible. I have been doing a lot of research on vegetarian meals, as I am slowly making a transition to vegetarianism. Thank you very much for sharing this I will definitely have to try this out.
Thank you somethingclevercupcakes and all the best for your decision to move towards vegetarianism! There are some truly wonderful and delicious recipes out there and I tend to feature a number of meat-free foodie treats here on Ff&k.. stay tuned for more ideas!
I definitely will!
Hi there,
All of your recipes are healthy and delicious-looking, especially this one. A great twist on chickpeas!
Hopefully your blog will encourage me to be bit more creative in the kitchen…
Thank you, tasty and wholesome is always what I try to achieve in my recipes. So glad you like my riff on veggie burgers and that ff&k has inspired kitchen creativity! Happy cooking, baking and eating!
This looks wonderful, can’t wait to try it!
Just making this recipe and can’t seem to find what to do with the egg white?.
Thank you for drawing my attention to the oversight in the recipe, Jemma!
The egg white is to be added to the food processor along with the chickpeas.
Kate x
Thank you Kate I have made several of your recipes and they are all just amazing have passed onto my friends as well thank you for sharing with us !!
Many thanks for your support Jemma. It is always special to hear that my recipes have inspired, excited and nourished. K x