3. Chickpea fritters with yogurt, green chilli and cucumber salad
Turn chickpeas into these lightly-spiced fritters and serve with a zesty cucumber salad for a quick, low-calorie lunch that’s gloriously gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 150g gram flour
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp mild curry powder
- 2 large eggs
- 175ml coconut water
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- a thumb-sized piece ginger
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- ½ tsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp rapeseed or vegetable oil, plus 2 tsp
- 1½ tsp nigella seeds
- ½ cucumber, sliced thinly
- 200g greek yogurt
- a handful mint leaves
- 1-2 green chillies, sliced
Method
- STEP 1
Roughly mash the chickpeas in a bowl, using a fork.
- STEP 2
Tip the flour, spices and 1⁄2 tsp salt into a big bowl. Make a well in the centre, then crack in the eggs and whisk together, gradually incorporating more of the flour. Pour in 1/4 of the coconut water while whisking, make sure the batter is still lump-free, then whisk in the remaining coconut water in 3 batches. Keep whisking until the batter is perfectly smooth. Stir in the chickpeas and spring onions, and pour into a jug.
- STEP 3
Finely grate the ginger and squeeze all the juice from the pulp into a bowl, discarding the pulp. Whisk in the lime juice, vinegar, sugar, 2 tsp oil and nigella seeds. Stir through the cucumber.
- STEP 4
Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add spoonfuls of the batter and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, flipping after bubbles appear on the surface. When golden and cooked through, keep warm in a low oven while you cook the rest in batches. Add more oil when you need to.
- STEP 5
To serve, pile up the fritters on plates with the cucumber salad, spoonfuls of yogurt, mint and slices of chilli.
4. Halloumi and Mediterranean veg traybake
This gluten-free traybake packs in plenty of seasonal veg and salty halloumi for a vibrant lunch that’s ready in 30 minutes. There are lots more vegetable traybake recipes where this one came from.
Ingredients
- 4 courgettes, cut into small chunks
- 1 red onion, cut into slim wedges
- 3 large cloves garlic, skins left on
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 300g cherry tomatoes
- 250g halloumi, sliced
- ¼ tsp cumin seeds
- a few pinches dried chilli flakes (optional)
- flatbreads, to serve
- hummus and hot sauce, to serve
Method
- STEP 1
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Toss the courgettes, onion and garlic with the olive oil, and tip into a large, shallow baking dish. Season well and roast for 10 minutes.
- STEP 2
Stir in the cherry tomatoes and sit the halloumi slices on top. Sprinkle over the cumin seeds and chilli flakes, if using. Cook for another 15 minutes until the tomatoes start to burst and release juice, and the halloumi is turning golden.
- STEP 3
Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and mash into the oil and juices in the baking dish, stirring it in. Spoon everything onto plates and serve with soft flatbreads and hummus or hot sauce, if you like.
