Recipe of the day: Chickpea burger with coconut onion rings and garlic & herb yoghurt sauce

It’s Friday, which usually means getting takeaways for dinner. But, instead of spending your last couple of hundred rand on a unsatisfying meal, rather make your own burgers at home. This chickpea burger with coconut onion rings and a garlic and herb yoghurt sauce will get everyone’s stamp of approval.

If you don’t like chickpeas, replace the patty with beef, lamb, chicken or fish.

ALSO SEE: Recipe of the day: Muffin and Sourdough pizza recipe 

Chickpea burger

Ingredients

Chickpea patty

• 2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 tbs fresh minced garlic
• 100g toasted walnuts
• 40g almond flour
• 70g rolled oats
• 200g cauliflower rice
• 1 tbs Spanish smoked paprika
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground cumin

Coconut onion rings

• 2 large onions
• ¾ cup corn flour
• 1 tsp fine salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup full cream milk
• 2 cups desiccated coconut
• 1½ cup canola oil

Garlic and herb yoghurt sauce

• 1 cup plain yoghurt
• 5g fresh dill
• 5g fresh coriander
• 5g fresh parsley
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tbs fresh garlic
• salt & pepper to taste

Plus

• 6 hamburger buns, buttered
• Butter lettuce
• Tomato slices

Method

To make the chickpea patty

1. Place chickpeas, red onion, garlic, cumin, paprika and cauliflower rice into a large food processor and pulse until well combined but still chunky. Transfer mixture into a bowl.
2. In a separate food processor bowl, pulse together the toasted walnuts, oats, almond flour and salt. Add the oats mixture to the chickpea mixture and combine using your hands, making sure all the ingredients are well incorporated.
3. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Shape the chickpea mixture into 6 burger patties and lay them on the baking tray. Cover with another layer of baking paper and refrigerate for 1 hour. (This helps them firm up).
4. Heat a large non-stick pan on medium to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. Once pan is hot, cook the patties for 8 min on each side, flipping them slowly and carefully.

To make the coconut onion rings

1. Fill a pot with oil and heat on medium heat.
2. Slice onions into 1cm rings and place in a bowl of ice water. In a separate bowl combine cornflour, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, eggs and milk until smooth.
3. In another bowl place the desiccated coconut. Once the mixture is ready, remove onion rings from ice water and pat dry.
4. In batches, coat the rings with the cornflour mixture then the coconut.
5.  Set aside on baking paper. Once all coated, make sure oil isn’t too hot (otherwise it will burn the rings). Cook the onion rings 3 minutes on each side. Set aside once all is cooked.

To make the garlic and herb sauce

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

To serve

1. Toast the buttered hamburger buns in a pan.
2. Slice tomatoes thinly.
3. Spread the yoghurt sauce on the bottom bun, then place lettuce, two tomato slices, chickpea patty, two onion rings and more yoghurt sauce and cover with top bun.
4. Serve with sweet potato fries.

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*This recipe was created by Charmaine Lehabe, a Capsicum Culinary Studio alumnus, now running her own catering company called The Squared Experience and is being published with permission.

NOW SEE: Recipe of the day: Chicken and chilli bean tortilla with sour cream