Revithokeftedes: Greek-Style Chickpea Patties

Revithokeftedes is the Greek word for chickpea meatballs. That’s what it literally translates to. I prefer to form them into burger patties and serve them with tzatziki and a salad. From start to finish, they’re ready in 20 minutes. You can’t beat that!

This delicious recipe is ready in 20 minutes. If you prefer, you can make these patties with dried chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) but, I’m team “use what you got” and I always have canned chickpeas in my pantry. I love to add them to stews and soups, and even rice. Chickpeas are loaded with nutrition and high in protein too. Did I mention how delicious they taste in salads? Back in the days when life wasn’t as hectic, I used to boil a few pounds and freeze the cooked chickpeas in bags. I can’t even remember when the last time was that I did that…

It’s easy to keep these revithokeftedes vegan because they’re meaty (without any meat) and so flavorful because of the fresh herbs and seasonings. I like to make at least one meat-free meal per week and this one is perfect! You can certainly add more things to these patties to make them even better:

• cooked tuna
• frozen peas
• cooked vegetables
• mashed potatoes
• leftover cooked chicken

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Serve them in a pita as a sandwich with some garlicky tahini, tzaztiki, or even spicy sriracha. They also pair well with an arugula salad or alongside Mediterranean rice pilaf.

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Revithokeftedes: Greek-Style Chickpea Patties

Yield: 8 patties or 16 meatballs

Revithokeftedes is the Greek word for chickpea meatballs. That's what it literally translates to. I prefer to form them into burger patties and serve them with tzatziki and a salad. From start to finish, they're ready in 20 minutes. You can't beat that!

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Ingredients

• 15 ounces cooked chickpeas, or leftover chickpea stew
• A handful of fresh parsley
• 3 scallions, finely sliced
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs or mashed potatoes
• Approximately 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt, or more
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1 egg, beaten
• 5-6 olives, pitted and sliced
• Oil for frying
• Lemon wedges and tzatziki sauce for serving

Instructions

1. Place the parsley and olives in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until finely chopped. Add the chickpea stew or boiled and drained chickpeas and pulse until the chickpeas are finely chopped and a paste begins to form.
2. Place the chickpea mixture in a mixing bowl and add the chopped scallions, panko bread crumbs, flour, and salt and pepper. Mix well and taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Add the egg and mix well until combined. Add some more flour if needed so that the mixture sticks together.
3. Form into patties (1/4 cup each) or into balls to create vegetarian meatballs.
4. Heat a cast iron skillet with some vegetable oil and fry until golden on both sides. About 3 minutes per side.
5. Serve with salad, pita bread, and some lemon wedges. They taste great dipped in homemade tzatziki sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

If you are using canned or boiled chickpeas, you may add 1-2 grated garlic cloves to the chickpea mixture to add some more flavor. Cilantro may be substituted for the parsley. Crumbled feta may also be added to the mixture. These keep well (uncooked) frozen up to 2 months.