Mary's falafel burgers

Pair these golden-brown vegetarian falafel burger patties with a creamy tahini sauce and serve in burger buns or pita.

Credit: Mary Makes It Easy

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Burgers

• 1 cup (175 g) dry chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 4 green onions, roughly chopped
• 1 handful parsley
• 1 handful coriander (cilantro) leaves
• 1 lemon, zested
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ cup (or more if needed) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1½-2 cups canola oil

Toppings

• ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup red or white wine vinegar
• ½ tsp sugar
• Kosher salt
• ½ cup tahini
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 45-60 ml water, more if needed
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• 4 burger or pita buns
• Sprouts or lettuce
• Sliced cucumbers
• Sliced tomato
• Feta cheese

Chilling time: 1 hour.

Instructions

1. Drain the chickpeas and transfer to the bowl of your food processor. Add in the garlic, green onions, parsley, coriander, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, cumin and salt. Pulse 6 to 8 times or until finely chopped and well blended. Sprinkle the baking powder and ¼ cup of flour over the chickpea mixture and pulse 2 to 3 more times to combine. Test the falafel mixture by picking some up and squeezing it into a small ball with your hands. The mixture shouldn’t be too sticky and should just hold together. If the mixture easily falls apart, add another tablespoon or two of flour and pulse to combine.
2. Transfer the mixture to a bowl or container, cover, and place in the fridge for at least one hour or up to 24 hours. This allows the starch for the beans to come out, allowing the mixture to hold together while frying.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the toppings for the burgers. Lightly pickle the red onions by tossing them with the vinegar, sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt in a small bowl and set aside for at least 20 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, and 2 tablespoons of water and season with salt. If needed, add another tablespoon of water to reach a saucy consistency. Set out the buns, sprouts or lettuce, tomato, and feta for assembly.
4. After the falafel mixture has chilled, divide into four equal pieces and shape into burgers roughly the same size as your buns.
5. Heat the oil in a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat to 190°C (375°F). Fry the falafel burgers until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side, reducing the heat if the burgers are browning too quickly.
6. Serve the falafel burgers on the buns topped with sprouts or lettuce, tomato, pickled onion, tahini sauce and feta.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.