Smokey Barbeque Chickpeas and Zucchini Corn Fritters

I'm proud of this recipe. I took a couple of recipes floating around and tweaked them, especially for the fritters. The chickpeas were based off a recipe from The Salad Ninja. I bulked up that recipe with onions becuase why not? The fritters remind me of a no-cholesterol version of Texas Corn Pudding (which I miss so much.) One of the nice thing about cutting out meat and eggs is I rarely have to worry about cross contamination or E.Coli from undercooked eggs (E. Coli is a concern with mung beans, sprouts, and similar though.)

This isn't a super quick meal unless you prep the fritter batter the night before. Definitely drain the onion and zucchini well. Extra liquid makes it hard for the fritters to hold together. 

 
Yield: 10 patties, 2 cups barbeque (3-4 adult servings with left over fritters)

For the Zucchini Corn Fritters you need:

1 zucchini, shredded and drained
1 ear sweet corn
1 medium white onion, shredded and drained
 3/4 C cornmeal
½ C oat or whole wheat Flour
1 Tbl Almond Milk
2 Tbl Nutritional Yeast
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 clove minced garlic)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 T ground flax

1.  Combine 1 Tbl of ground flax seed to 3 Tbl of water. Mix well and place in the refrigerator. 15-30 mn. Now is a good time to drain your zucchini and onions
2. Process the zucchini and onion together. Transfer to a large bowl and fold in the corn.
3. To the zucchini and corn mixture, mix in the rest of the ingredients. Add more corn meal as needed to firm up the mixture.
4. Heat a large skillet (preferably cast iron) on medium- high heat. Oil is not needed with a well seasoned cast iron but may be for other skillets.
5. Spoon mixture onto skillet, flattening on the skillet. Size is up to you- bite size or patty size.
6. Cook both sides until toasted.

For the Smokey Barbeque Chickpeas you need:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoon tamari
1 1/2 rounded tablespoon tomato paste
1 ½ tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 ½ teaspoon liquid smoke (preferably hickory)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with a little oil (I used sunflower since it has a neutral taste)
2. Add the chickpeas and onion and saute until golden (there will toasty parts, this is okay) 6-8 minutes
3. While the chickpeas and onion is cooking, whisk the liquid/paste ingrediants together. Add to the chickpeas and onion once golden.
4. Cook the sauce until thickened, does not take long. Stir regularly so the sauce doesn't burn.
5. Sprinkle on the nutritional yeast and stir in. 

To serve: Top the fritters with barbeque or have them separate and top the fritters with avocado or tzatziki. We had ours with spinach salad and tzatziki. (tzatziki recipe is coming, I promise.)