Chickpea and Grilled Pepper Burger with Dill Dunked Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

3 red peppers
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g oven-baked onions
500g cooked chickpeas
3 garlic cloves
2 eggs
1 Tbs smoked paprika
1 Tbs mild chilli powder, such as piment d'Espelette
50g Panko breadcrumbs
Rapeseed or peanut oil for frying

Cucumber Salad:

1 bunch dill, few dill heads as necessary
2 cucumbers
Zest of a lemon
Sesame seeds
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Oven Baked Onions:

4 onions
2 Tbs butter
Olive oil for drizzling
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To Serve:

6 burger buns
Butter for buns

Method

Pre-heat grill to 250 C. Halve the peppers, removing core and seeds. Put pepper halves on a baking tray with the skins facing up and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Grill until the skin is black. Remove and transfer to a plastic bag.

Allow to cool, then rub or pull off the skin and cut into pieces.

Oven Baked Onions:

Pre-heat oven to 200 C. Peel onions and cut into quarters. Put in an ovenproof dish, add butter and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake in the middle of the oven for 20-30 minutes until they develop colour and maybe even a little burnt. Take out and allow to cool.

Rinse the chickpeas in cold water and drain well in a colander.

Peel and finely chop garlic, lightly whisk eggs in a food processor. Add the oven-baked onions, chickpeas, grilled peppers, paprika, chilli, breadcrumbs, garlic and salt. Pulse blend until all ingredients are well combined, but not too finely blended.

Take a handful of the mixture at a time and shape into six round patties, either by hand or using a food ring. Put the patties in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably longer, so they hold together when you fry them.

Pre-heat oven to 180 C.

Take some sprigs of dill for the cucumber salad. Shave cucumber length ways using a vegetable peeler, removing the seeds from the middle if desired - the cucumber will release less water. Put slices in a bowl and mix in dill, lemon zest, sesame seeds and some dill heads. Drizzle over a little olive oil and carefully turn salad using your hands. Season to taste.

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and pour in a little oil. Fry patties for a few minutes on both sides, until they have nice colour and a crispy surface. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and bake for 5-10 minutes.

Butter buns on cut surface and fry quickly in a frying pan or grill in oven. Put a patty on the bottom of each bun, top with cucumber salad and a few dill heads.

Credits: This is an edited extract from Green Burgers by Martin Nordin published by Hardie Grant Books and is available in stores nationally.

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from Green Burgers by Martin Nordin published by Hardie Grant Books and is available in stores nationally.