Zucchini-Chickpea Sandwiches

I was flipping through the September issue of Whole Living magazine last week and came across an awesome recipe for Zucchini Patty Sandwiches, a recipe by Shira Bocar. They looked scrumptious, and I knew I wanted to make them. I looooove falafel and these patties are a fun twist on a Middle Eastern favorite. I made a few ingredient substitutions including swapping out the Greek yogurt for my own tahini sauce, using whole wheat breadcrumbs instead of plain, and using a ground flaxseed and water mixture as a substitute for the egg (now it’s a vegan recipe). I also left out the fresh mint to keep it simple. They came out great, and I’ll definitely make these again. Here’s my recipe, adapted from Shira’s fabulous recipe in Whole Living.

Speaking of Greek yogurt, I heard that So Delicious has a coconut milk-based Greek yogurt coming to stores any day now. I can’t wait to try it!

Zucchini-Chickpea Sandwiches

Zucchini-Chickpea Patties:

1 can chickpeas

1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

1 zucchini

1 small red onion

1 tbsp. ground flaxseeds

3 tbsp. water

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 whole-wheat pitas

1 small head red leaf lettuce

Sriracha hot sauce (for garnish)

Tahini sauce:

1/2 cup tahini paste

3 gloves garlic

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tbsp. water

To make the tahini sauce…finely chop the garlic and mix it in a bowl with the tahini paste, salt, lemon juice, and water. Whisk together until smooth and add more water if needed. It makes a thick, rich tahini sauce.

To make the patties…put the ground flaxseeds in a small bowl, add water, and whisk together. Set aside to allow the mixture to become gooey (takes about 5 minutes). Drain the chickpeas and rinse them with water. Mash up the chickpeas in a large bowl. Peel the zucchini and onion and grate them with a large holed cheese grater. Add the grated zucchini and onion to the chickpeas and top with the breadcrumbs and salt. Add the flaxseed water mixture to the zucchini chickpea mixture and stir well. Form into thin patties (about 8).

Heat up the olive oil in a saute pan over medium high. Cook the patties for about 3-4 minutes on each side until they are crispy and brown. Drain the patties on paper towels to remove excess oil. Cut the pita breads in half and stuff them with chopped lettuce, zucchini chickpea patties, a dollop of tahini sauce, and a dash of hot sauce.

Tip: The tahini sauce is rich so try a little at a time to see how much you like. I used a big dollop for the sake of the pictures, but I used about half that much when I ate the leftovers.