Chickpea and Spinach Patties

Last weekend while at the store, I came across Mediterranean Chickpea and Spinach patties made by Veggie Patch. Not really looking to spend a lot of time making dinner, I picked these up thinking I’d make a lasagna of sorts by layering homemade cherry tomato sauce, spinach and the patties into a baking dish to pop in the oven for a handful of minutes. Curious about what the patties tasted like, I cut off a piece while still making the sauce. Wow. Needless to say, the sample patty disappeared within minutes. Anyway, since then, I’ve been interested in creating my own, one without egg and milk.

I thought about a black bean patty recipe I love. In order to bind those, you use a small amount of cornmeal in the mixture and let it sit for about an hour. I’m going to try applying this same concept when making the chickpea patties but with breadcrumbs to see if I can accomplish the same thing.

I added an additional ¼ cup of breadcrumbs because the mix was a little smoother than I had anticipated, but now it’s in the fridge and up to good karma to solidify it a little more to be molded into a patty.

As I anticipated, the half hour was what the chickpea patties needed to take shape. Forming little about 2 inch balls then pressing them flat into round patties.

One challenge I faced was figuring out how much time to keep them in the oven. Nervous that they would dry out, but hoping to have a crispy shell, it probably too long at too low of heat! It all worked out in the end since I was making Sweet Potato Fries at the same time, but next time I’d probably turn up the heat for a shorter amount of time.

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 cups fresh spinach, washed

6 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup panko breadcrumbs

1tablespoon parsley

¼ cup green onion, chopped

¼ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, until mixed well.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees in oven for about 25 minutes each side.