Fennel chickpea fritters with tzatziki
These Greek-inspired fennel chickpea fritters are crispy and full of flavor from plenty of fresh herbs. The tzatziki sauce complements these fennel chickpea fritters nicely by adding a nice touch of milky acidity, and more fresh herbs. This dish can work as an appetizer, side dish, or even a vegetarian main dish.
Ingredients notes for fennel chickpea fritters:
- Chickpea flour is key. The chickpeas in this recipe come from chickpea flour, which might be more or less of a specialty item depending on where you live. I found it in the organic section of my grocery store. Using chickpea flour helps avoid greasy fritters, along with adding some fiber and protein versus regular wheat flour. For the first incarnation of this recipe, I used wheat flour, and the result was unpleasantly greasy. Chickpea flour, on the other hand, is better at absorbing oil and a little better at absorbing water. So, trying again, chickpea flour, plus an egg to bind the ingredients made these into crispy, not-greasy fritters! You still need to drain on paper towels, as usual, but after that the fennel chickpea fritters were nice and crispy. 😉
- Cucumber: I used an English cucumber and included the skin and seeds, which are reliably tender and not-bitter in this variety. Depending on the variety you use, watch out for bitter skin or seeds.
- Fennel: When prepping the fennel, we don’t use the stalks and fonds in these fritters. The stalks are too tough. However, you can save the stalks and fonds for another use, such as stock. Using the core is up to you, I didn’t use it, but it is edible, just a bit firmer.
- Herbs: The quantities given for the herbs were weighed with the stems attached still.
Tips for making the best fennel chickpea fritters:
- Small fennel pieces. Use a food processor to easily chop up the fennel into small pieces (5 cm/¼ inch or less). See the picture below for an idea of size.
- Mix well. Be sure that the flour is mixed in evenly with no dry patches.
- Make the tzatziki first. This will give the sauce enough time for the flavors to blend nicely, at least 30 minutes.
- Pack down the batter. When scooping the batter to put in the frying pan, be sure to pack the vegetables and batter together. (I just squish the spoonful against the side of the mixing bowl.) This way, the fennel chickpea fritter is less likely to fall apart in the pan.
You might also enjoy…
If you enjoyed these fennel chickpea fritters, you might also enjoy these crispy zucchini cigars with feta or this zucchini and ricotta tart with tomato-basil sauce for some more Mediterranean flavor!
Let me know if you what you thought of this recipe in the comments!
Fennel chickpea fritters with tzatziki
Herby Mediterranean flavors in a crispy fritter, served with a tangy tzatziki sauce
Servings: 18 fritters
Ingredients
Tzatziki sauce
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- â…› tsp salt
- 150 g cucumber (about half an English cucumber)
- 12 g fresh dill
- 10 g fresh mint
- 150 g full fat Greek yogurt
- ½ tbsp olive oil
Fritters
- 525 g (18.5 oz) fennel
- 2 spring onions or scallions
- 40 g fresh parsley
- 20 g fresh dill
- 2 eggs
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 165 g (1 ¼ cup) chickpea flour
- Olive oil for pan frying or mix with sunflower oil
Instructions
Tzatziki sauce
- Mix garlic, lemon, & salt: Place the minced garlic clove, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and â…› tsp salt in a small bowl.
- Grate & add cucumber: Grate the half cucumber, then wrap it in a clean tea towel and squeeze out excess water. Place the drained cucumber in the small bowl with the garlic.
- Prep herbs & add other ingredients: Finely chop the leaves from 12 g dill and 10 g mint. Mix the herbs, 150 g Greek yogurt, and ½ tbsp olive oil to the rest of the sauce ingredients in the small bowl.
- Refrigerate the tzatziki sauce until ready to serve.
Fritters
- Prep the fennel: Remove the tough fennel stems and the core. Cut the rest of the fennel into big pieces, then use a food processor to chop the fennel into small pieces.
- Prep the other veg: Thinly slice the 2 spring onions, greens included. Finely chop the leaves of the 40 g parsley (about 1 cup of leaves) and the leaves of the 20 g dill (about ¼ cup leaves).
- Mix batter ingredients: Mix the vegetables together in a large bowl, then add the 2 eggs, ¾ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Finally, stir in 165 g chickpea flour.
- Pan fry: In a pan over medium-high heat, heat about ½ cm (¼ inch) depth of olive oil (enough to go about halfway up the fritters once they are in the pan). Once the oil is hot, add a heaping spoonful of batter to the pan and flatten with the back of your spatula to make a patty about 1 ½ cm (1 inch) thick. My fritters were about 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Depending of the size of your pan, you may cook several fritters at the same time. Let cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden brown.
- Serve with the chilled tzatziki sauce.