Fava Bean Fritters

I got some nice whole wheat pita to use up so I quickly whipped up these fritters and enjoyed them in a sandwich with some fresh lettuce and garlicky cucumber sauce. Yummers.

Fava Bean Fritters
(makes about 10-12 fritters)

1 14oz. can cooked fava beans (foul mudammas), drained and rinsed
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
handful of shelled, unsalted sunflower seeds
1 TB tahini
2-3 TB whole wheat, corn or all purpose flour (for binding)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
handful chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degreesF.
Combine all ingredients in large bowl. If you want a smoother mix, you can pulse everything in a food processor. I like to mix it up with a spoon and then get a dough blender or potato masher and roughly mash everything together. Make sure it's seasoned the way you like. ( I should have seasoned mine with more salt as I found it lacking a bit in flavor.) Roll bean mixture into balls and flatten into little 2" patties and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with oil. Bake for 30 minutes flipping halfway.

Variation: You can fry these in some olive oil too. They will be more crispy and probably even more tasty!