RECIPE: Chickpea Hash Browns

Words: Fiona Herron

Photo: Chris Herron

Being creative with simple ingredients can bring rewards not only for your physical health, but also for your mental and spiritual wellbeing. Everyone has been impacted by the ongoing lockdowns in some way or other, and it is important to have a space in your life that is not dictated by mandates and that can provide joy in the simple pleasures.

These chickpea hash browns are tasty and don’t contain any of the nasty ingredients you’ll find in similar frozen store-bought products. They are also versatile – perfect with eggs in the morning or use them as the protein source in your evening meal with steamed broccoli, cauliflower, beans and carrots.

Chickpea Hash Browns are a versatile meal option.

Chickpeas, or garbanzo beans are a legume grown all over the world and have high levels of fibre and protein. Because chickpeas contain almost all of the essential amino acids (except for methionine) some studies suggest that they are the best choice protein-wise when compared to other legumes.

Importantly, chickpeas also contain a substantial amount of choline (almost 70mg/cup). This is an essential nutrient that plays a role in the brain and nervous system – helping to regulate mood, learning and memory. If you like these chickpea hash browns, why not try roasting chickpeas and elevate your mood even further!

Ingredients: 

– 1 tin of chick peas (drained and washed, or equivalent dried and soaked)

– 2 eggs

– 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (or your version thereof)

– 1/4 tsp chilli flakes/powder (optional)

– salt and pepper to taste

– bread crumbs for a crunchy finish (I’ve used gluten-free)

– butter/oil for frying

Method:

1. Rinse and drain chickpeas (or soak overnight if using dried chickpeas)
2. Using a food processor or a fork, roughly mash the chickpeas – there shouldn’t been any whole chickpeas left (and discard any skins)
3. In a mixing bowl, add mashed chickpeas, eggs, cheese, chilli and salt & pepper and mix together with a spoon (the mix should be quite wet)
4. Heat pan with your choice of oil
5. Scoop approx 1 tbs of mix into pan and flatten and shape into a ‘hash brown’ and sprinkle some breadcrumbs onto
6. Cook for a minute or so before turning
7. Turn, sprinkle breadcrumbs again and cook for a minute
8. Turn one more time – they won’t take long to cook and you should see that the outside of the hash brown is a golden colour.
9. Make 8 to 10 individual hash browns

Nutrition per serve (75g):

Energy – 430kJ

Protein – 7g

Fat – 4g

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