Fried chickpea and sweetcorn patties

This recipe is inspired by Jamie Oliver's 'the best vegan burger'. I think it's a bit of a tall order to expect the 'burger' to hold together in a bun. I have adjusted the quantities a little and we prefer to serve the rissole (now there's a word from the seventies!) and eat with a knife and fork, which is far more elegant, just like us. You can omit, substitute or add any flavourings so long as they do not give too much texture, as this may make the patties fall apart more easily. For example, if you were to add chopped onion, they would struggle to hold together, whereas ground spice or garlic puree would blend in easily.

Ingredients

300g (drained weight) cooked chickpeas

200g drained tinned sweetcorn

grated rind lemon

paprika

ground coriander spice

ground cumin

handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped

dusting of flour

cooking oil

Make sure the chickpeas and sweetcorn are well drained. If using tinned chickpeas, wash the gloop off them thoroughly. Leave both the chickpeas and sweetcorn sitting in a sieve at room temperature for an hour or so to dry off a little. Likewise, if you wash the coriander leaves, ensure they are well dried in kitchen paper.

Put the chickpeas, sweetcorn, grated lemon rind, spices and chopped coriander leaves into a food processor and mix for about one minute. Do not blend to a completely smooth consistency - leave some texture in mixture. Add a dusting of flour to help dry the mixture if needed. This will make it adhere better at the next stage.

Form the mixture into about 8 little patties about 2cm deep and 6-7cms across. 

Pour enough cooking oil into frying pan to cover the bottom all over. Heat the oil and add the patties to the hot oil so that the heat sears them. Then turn the heat down a little and cook gently for about 10 minutes until nicely brown. Turn over halfway through cooking. The patties may absorb all the oil and more may be required to keep the pan moist and prevent scorching. 

Serve with salads or cooked veg, bread, as desired.

Note on cooking chickpeas

If you are using dried chickpeas, soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water or use 'quick soak' method (place chickpeas in water and bring to boil, turn out heat and leave covered for one hour).

After soaking, I cook the chickpeas in water in a pressure cooker for 15 - 20 minutes using 15 pounds weight.