Oven-Baked Vegetable Fritters (gluten free, too)

If you find yourself craving onion rings but can't justify the frying, try these baked fritters instead. (Okay, so you can't call them fritters if they're not fried.  But "fritter" sounds so much more appealing than, say, "vegetable patties".  'Nuff said.)

Makes 8-12

Preheat oven to 425. In large bowl, stir together:
2 Tbsp. garbanzo flour
2 Tbsp. rice flour
1 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste

Toss with:
1 small onion, finely chopped or thinly sliced
1 small red pepper, ditto
Chopped fresh or frozen parsley in desired quantity

Stir in:
2 Tbsp. oil (extra virgin olive for me)

Let sit for 10-20 minutes so the veggies can give up a little juice. Try scooping up some of the mixture--if it will hold together, proceed to the next step. If not, drizzle a tablespoon or two of water over it and stir again. (Don't be discouraged if it looks like a bowl of chopped veggies with a bit of flour clinging to them. It will work, I promise you.)

Scoop out balls of mixture onto cookie sheet covered with silicone mat or parchment (I use a 2" spring scoop). Gently flatten with fingers. Drizzle or spray a bit of oil over the tops. This is what mine look like at this point:

Bake for 15 minutes, then gently flip over and bake for another 10 minutes or so. Remove from oven and enjoy!

We eat them plain, but they'd also be great with tzatziki. Experiment with other veggies and herbs and let me know what you come up with.