Chickpea Burgers

Combine the chickpeas, onion, couscous, chili powder, cumin, egg, garlic, mint leaves, salt, and pepper, in a food processor and pulse until chunky but not puréed, adding a little liquid if necessary to produce a moist but not wet mixture. Add feta cheese toward the end and pulse again. Scoop into a mixing bowl, stir in raisins, and let the mixture rest for a few minutes in the refrigerator if time allows.

With wet hands, shape into whatever size patties you want and again let rest for a few minutes if time allows. (You can make the burger mixture or even shape the burgers up to a day or so in advance. Just cover tightly and refrigerate, then bring everything back to room temperature before cooking.)

Heat a large frying pan to medium and pour in enough olive oil to cook the patties. When the oil is hot, add the patties and cook until nicely browned on one side, about 5 minutes; turn carefully and cook on the other side until firm and browned. Serve on buns or lightly toasted local bread with the usual burger fixings. These are also really good with a drizzle of garlic yogurt sauce (stir together 1 cup plain yogurt with 1 tsp. garlic and a little salt).