Sun-dried Tomato Chickpea Burgers & Beer Battered Onion Rings

The other day I shared my recipe for tangzhong burger buns and promised I would be sharing a burger recipe to go with them; well here it is – sun-dried tomato chickpea burgers. These are totally vegetarian/vegan burgers that are easy to make, delicious and very satisfying. I served the burgers alongside some amazing home-made beer battered onion rings which were utterly addictive and so much better than shop bought ones.

The burgers consist of a base of mashed chickpeas and ground almonds and are flavoured with sun-dried tomatoes and plenty of fresh basil. They are a little more crumbly than my black bean burgers, that is because I wanted to keep them vegan so omitted the egg that I usually add to veggie burgers to help hold them together; you can add an egg to the mix if you like and aren’t fussed about them being suitable for vegans. They still hold their shape well though and don’t fall apart in the pan like plenty of other veggie burgers I’ve tried.

The burger patties themselves are vegan/dairy and egg free as well as being gluten free but I served them in buns containing dairy, gluten and egg and topped them with cheese (try them topped with grilled halloumi if you can – so good!) so obviously you will need to adapt how you serve them as necessary.

The beer battered onion rings take a bit of effort but are totally worth it. I soaked the onion in buttermilk first which isn’t strictly necessary if you want to save time but it does help to soften it, add flavour and remove some of the pungent onion taste. They are then coated in seasoned flour before being dipped in a cajun spiced beer batter and deep fried. They are best served straight away but they also freeze really well once cold and re-heat perfectly in a hot oven.

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Sun-Dried Tomato Chickpea Burgers And Beer Battered Onion Rings

Servings 4 burgers

Ingredients

Sun-Dried Tomato Chickpea Burgers:

• one 400 g (14oz) can chickpeas rinsed and drained
• 1/2 small red onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• large handful fresh basil roughly chopped
• 75 g (1/2 cup) sundried tomatoes roughly chopped
• 3/4 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 100 g (1 cup) ground almonds

Beer Battered Onion Rings:

• 1 very large onion
• 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) buttermilk
• 200 ml (1/2 + 1/3 cup) milk
• 100 g (scant 1 cup) plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 60 g (1/2 cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
• 60 g (1/2 cup) plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
• generous pinch salt
• 160 ml (2/3 cup) lager
• vegetable oil for frying

To Serve:

• 4 burger buns
• grilled halloumi cheese slices
• lettuce
• guacamole
• salsa

Instructions

Sun-Dried Tomato Chickpea Burgers:

1. Place the chickpeas, chopped onion, crushed garlic, chopped basil and tomatoes in a food processor with the salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Blitz until everything is very finely chopped and clumping together.
   

2. Stir in the ground almonds then pop the mix in the fridge for half an hour to make it easier to shape.
   

3. Divide the mixture into four equal parts; shape each one into a ball then flatten into a patty.
   

4. Place a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium-low heat and add the patties. Cook for about four minutes per side until nicely browned then serve in a toasted burger bun with grilled halloumi, guacamole, lettuce and salsa.
   

Beer Battered Onion Rings:

1. Cut the ends off the onion and peel off the skin. Cut it into rings about 1cm wide. Separate out the rings and place them in a wide bowl. Mix together the buttermilk and milk and pour it over the onion, pressing it down to make sure that it is covered. Leave to soak at room temperature for about an hour.
   

2. In a wide, shallow bowl mix together the 100g plain flour, the salt and the cayenne pepper.
   

3. In a separate bowl mix together the cornflour, the 50g plain flour, the cajun seasoning and salt. Gradually whisk in the lager to form a smooth batter.
   

4. Half-fill a large saucepan with the oil and heat until it reaches 180C/350F on a thermometer (or until a piece of bread crisps in 20-30 secs) or heat a deep fat fryer to 180C/350F.

5. Drain the onion rings then coat them in the seasoned flour. Dip each ring in the batter and fry for 3-4 minutes until crisp, just do a few at a time so you don't overcrowd the pan. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt then serve.