Greek Patty & Feta-Yogurt Sauce from The Meat Lover's Meatless Celebrations

Last month I received a preview copy of Kim O'Donnel's newest cookbook: The Meat Lover's Meatless Celebrations. I've known Kim for over ten years because I used to read her food chats on WA Post before she moved to Seattle. Although I'm far from being a vegetarian, I was excited to see what this book had to offer.

The cookbook is divided into seasons, and each season features recipes for specific celebrations such as Halloween, Diwali, Hanukkah, The Big Day, Easter, etc. Of course you can make recipes from Hanukkah section any time you want, but it's nice to have a sample menu to work from.

Even if you don't eat a meatless diet 24/7 or don't celebrate certain holidays or occasions, you'll want to make many recipes from this book not only because Kim provides a back story and helpful hints for her recipes, but also because of beautiful photographs by the talented Clare Barboza.

I bookmarked quite a few recipes, but decided to start with Greek Patty & Feta-Yogurt Sauce.

Greek Patty & Feta-Yogurt Sauce
Recipe from The Meat Lover's Meatless Celebrations

Ingredients

for the patties  
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in water for 6 hours at room temperature, drained
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh dill
zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon dried oregano {I left this out}
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 to 1/2 cup neutral oil

for the sauce
1/2 cup 2% or full fat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced finely {I used my beloved microplane}
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano {I left this out}
pinch of cayenne

Directions {I rewrote some of the directions to fit my own style of recipe writing}

1. Using a food processor or stand blender, pulverize the chickpeas using the pulse function, until the beans form a paste that sticks together when you squeeze it in your hand. Be careful not to overprocess; too smooth, the batter will fall apart when cooking. 

2. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the oil) and process, using pulse function about 20 times. {Remaining ingredients refer to the ones for the patties only! Leave the sauce ingredients alone for now!}

3. Divide the mixture into 8 equal parts and form the patties. Cover the chickpea patties and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until firm.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F.

5. Heat the oil in a shallow skillet over medium-high heat. Gently place the patties into the hot oil and cook 2-3 minutes on each side. You might have to do this in a few batches.

6. Transfer the patties onto a baking sheet and bake for about 7 minutes.

7. To make the sauce: add the yogurt to a blender and process until it's creamy. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and process till it reaches the consistency you desire. Taste and add more lemon juice and salt if necessary.

I served the patties with dill, cucumbers and tomatoes. Kim suggested cucumbers, spinach, pickled peppers, and hot sauce.

This was a really simple recipe to make. The patties are filling and can really be eaten for any meal of the day. I think it'd be fun to make them into falafel or make them into appetizer size! My favorite part, however, was the feta-yogurt sauce. Not only was it good with these chickpea patties, but it can also be used as a salad dressing or a dipping sauce for vegetables {I hate the word veggies!}.

I look forward to making more recipes from this book!

What's the last vegetarian dish you've made?