In the Middle East, this is fast food. Street vendors fry these chickpea balls in bubbling oil, then tuck them into a pita with colorful salad. With a final flourish, they add a squirt or two of tahini and spicy harissa sauces. We’ve switched ours from the deep-fat fryer to the saute pan with excellent results.
Lemon-tahini sauce
Tahini is sesame-seed paste. It looks like light peanut butter and is sold in the condiment section of supermarkets. For lemon-tahini sauce, stir 1/2 cup tahini with 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/3 to 1/2 cup water, 1 large crushed garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon salt and generous pinches of cayenne and freshly ground black pepper. Makes 1 cup