Spinach and chickpea fritters

This recipe for a side dish is adapted from Real Simple. When I mixed all the ingredients, I had a feeling that the fritters wouldn’t hold together, and indeed, they had no cohesion whatsoever. So I added an egg to the second half of the batch, and I really liked the result. The recipe below is therefore my version. I served them with poached eggs the first night, for a light dinner, but I went with vegetarian “chicken” the second night for something a little more substantial. Note that you can go crazy with the hot sauce here if you wish, but I prefer my fritters mild. I’d also serve them without the yogurt and sauce.

8 cups stemmed and torn Swiss chard (about 1 bunch) or spinach
1 15.5-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ tsp. ground cumin
kosher salt and black pepper
2 oz. Feta, crumbled (about ½ cup)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
4 Tbsp. olive oil
½ cup plain Greek yogurt (optional)
hot sauce, for serving (optional)

In a food processor, combine the Swiss chard, chickpeas, garlic, cumin, ½ tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. pepper and pulse until finely chopped, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Transfer to a large bowl, add the Feta, flour and eggs, and mix until combined. Form the mixture into eight 2½-inch patties. (I used a ¼-cup measure and got 10 patties.)

Heat 2 Tbsp. of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook the patties until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side, adding the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil to the skillet for the second batch. Serve with the yogurt and hot sauce (and a main course).