Chickpea Fritters with Roasted Winter Veggies and Garam Masala Yogurt Sauce

Whenever I have the opportunity to eat at a restaurant with an exceptionally talented chef, either here locally or farther away, I always marvel at one primary truth. A truly great chef can take even the most humble sounding dish and make it something spectacular. In December I enjoyed a weekend trip to Chicago (which I instagrammed about incessantly) and as with all of my trips, my primary goal was to eat as much amazing food as possible in the time I had. I never pass up an opportunity to visit Girl and the Goat and as always, the meal was truly superb from start to finish. What especially amazed me this time was that of the six incredible dishes we tried, the humble chickpea fritter with winter veggies was our favorite, even more than the more carnivorous courses. While the details of the other dishes have started to fade, I have not been able to get this one off of my mind and I knew there was only one solution – to recreate it at home.

Thankfully a quick Google search provided the actual recipe for the fritters themselves and the rest was fairly straightforward to figure out on my own. I’m very happy to report that this recreation is incredibly close to what we had at the restaurant and I can’t say enough good things about this dish! I rarely fry things but for the sake of authenticity, I did fry these this time. However, the patties hold up very well and I suspect that pan searing on all sides in a cast iron skillet would have a similar result with less fat required. I may play around with baking the fritters in the future as well and if I have success, I will update this recipe to include that method as well. For now, do not pass go, do not collect $200 – just make this dish!

Yield about 6 servings

Ingredients

For the chickpea fritters:

1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup cooked chickpeas, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Vegetable and olive oil, for frying

For the vegetables:

1 lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (if large)
1 lb. sweet potato, peeled and cut into ¾-inch chunks
2½ tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. water
¾ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. pepper

For the sauce:

1 cup low fat greek yogurt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. olive oil
1½ tsp. garam masala
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

01
Line the bottom of an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease lightly. In a medium saucepan, combine the broth, water and salt over medium heat. Gradually whisk in the chickpea flour, stirring often so that no lumps remain. Cook until the mixture thickens and bubbles, about 5 minutes, continuing to stir often. Remove from the heat, stir in the chopped chickpeas and Parmesan. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, until firm.
02
Preheat the oven to 500˚ F. In a large bowl, combine the brussels sprouts, sweet potato, olive oil, water, salt and pepper. Toss well to combine, then transfer to a rimmed baking sheet or a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, placing the cut side of the brussels sprouts face down. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake 10-12 minutes more, until the vegetables are crisp-tender and browned.
03
Meanwhile, carefully lift the slab of the chickpea mixture from the baking pan and transfer to a cutting board. Using a large chef’s knife, cut into 16 equal squares. In a medium saucepan, combine equal parts vegetable and olive oil for frying (I used 1 cup of each.) Hook a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. When the oil reaches 380˚ F, place some of the chickpea patties into the oil to fry, cooking about 2-3 minutes and turning once until light golden brown. Transfer the finished fritters to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with the remainder of the patties. (Be sure to monitor the temperature of the oil and if it drops too low, bring it back up to temp before continuing to fry.)
04
In a small bowl, combine the greek yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil and garam masala. Stir well until evenly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the warm chickpea fritters over the roasted vegetables with the yogurt sauce on the side.

Source

fritter recipe from Stephanie Izard via Chicago Tribune, vegetable method adapted from The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen