Italian Chickpea Patties (Falafel Fake Out)

I happened upon this one by accident, but most of my recipes are trial and error anyway. I had one lonely can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and I was trying to figure out a way to use it besides...hummus. So here you go! It's a chickpea patty! It's versatile and so good.  It looks and tastes like it should be bad for you, but it's on the healthy side. If you're watching your Weight Watcher Smart Points it is 1-2 points per patty depending on how big you make them. 

INGREDIENTS

1 - 15.5 oz can of chickpeas

1 TBSP grated parmesan cheese

1 TBSP Italian seasoning

1 TBSP minced garlic

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs (poured in a bowl for the breading)

Salt N Pepper
(1-4 TBSP of water for consistency)

DIRECTIONS:

Drain and rinse chickpeas. In a medium size bowl smash chickpeas to smooth consistency (takes elbow grease with a fork). Add parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic, and salt/pepper. If the mixture isn't thick add a teaspoon or two of the bread crumbs. At this point it's your judgment if you need water to help the patties come together. Start with one tablespoon and keep mixing until you think they'll form ok.
Form patties with a two inch diameter and pat bread crumbs on both sides. In a medium nonstick skillet spray olive oil cooking spray and cook patties on medium heat. Makes 8-10 patties.

For an Italian dinner, add marinara and mozzarella to have a vegetarian version of Chicken Parmesan.

This is also great TexMex style with cumin and chili powder for a side dish for tacos. You can add black beans (keep them whole) with the chickpea mixture.