I am on a tiny quest to find a great, and I mean GREAT, veggie burger. A while back I posted a fantastic black bean burger, compliments of my sister. We have been eating that one quite a bit. It’s a super easy recipe, and the best part? You must freeze them before you cook them so it’s easy to whip up a batch and keep them in the freezer for a quick dinner or lunch.
Last month I tried a lentil-walnut burger which tasted
great, but totally fell apart in the bun. I haven’t posted that recipe (check
out my favorite cookbook –The Moosewood Cookbook- to see it), because I only
give it a C- in the ‘bun-worthy’ category. Kinda turned out like a
lentil-walnut casserole with ketchup and mustard on top…..all served on a
crumbled bun…. sounds worse than it was,
but really, a burger must be eaten in a bun with two hands!
I know there are lentil-olive burger recipes out there, but
to date, I haven’t found one….can you advise?
I’ve eaten lots of those ‘veggie’ burgers (they’re mostly
soy) from the freezer section in the grocery store and this past weekend we
even splurged on a frozen quinoa burger from the health food store – which was
pretty darn good in my estimation – bun worthy and all. Hubby didn’t like it
much though…..
Today I share a creation using the humble chick pea. The flavor was super!!! The ‘bun
worthy’ factor was not an issue, cuz I wised up and used PITA BREAD!! An
excellent solution I must admit! These were great! And they made awesome
leftovers for lunch the next few days. As you may know, I like a hot lunch and
leftovers are the key. Try ‘em – you’ll like ‘em! And stop saying, “Yucky.”
Here’s what
you need:
1 C chopped
onions
1 C chopped
celery
Salt, pepper
15 ounce can
chick peas (garbanzo beans, I think they are called also)
2-3 cloves
garlic
2 teaspoons
of each: Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Balsamic vinegar and dried thyme
2 C cooked
brown rice
Here’s what
you do:
Take the
scary old onions from the back of the fridge (Don’t judge me!! ) and chop them
up. Sautee them with some celery. Salt and pepper to taste.
Best trick ever: Drop the whole garlic cloves in a whirling blender to get the best ever minced garlic! Add the chick peas, sauces and spices and whirl until a mush.
Best trick ever: Drop the whole garlic cloves in a whirling blender to get the best ever minced garlic! Add the chick peas, sauces and spices and whirl until a mush.
Add ½ of the
rice and continue to whirl.
In a big
bowl add the remaining rice and the oats. Make a judgment about how much
oatmeal to add- you want it firm, but not dry. Moist, but not wet….. They’re
vegetables! Don’t fret! Let them
rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes – helps them firm up.
Form into
patties, dredge in flour (or skip this step) and fry.
If you have the guts, fry them next to your son's dinner - two juicy and great smelling beef burgers. Poor kid.....
Serve in pita bread to avoid the dreaded C- in the ‘bun worthy’ category. The flavor of this burger easily stood up to all the usual burger toppings – lettuce, tomato, condiments, etc. Enjoy this one!
(printable recipe)
One Year Ago: Spice Rack Challenge: Coriander: Bulgar Salad
They do sound great Tracy
ReplyDeletebut I don't think the men in
the house would enjoy them
(well of course I wouldn't have
to tell them what it was I suppose)
I could trick them into eating them
as in fairness they are always hungry.
Lovely recipe.
Hmmm hungry now!
Have a good week
Fiona
Chickpeas are so versatile and perfect for making burgers. I use the to make what I called "Falafel burgers" and love them. These look very good for veggie burgers! :-)
ReplyDeleteThey do look good. But my take would be to skip the bun, and eat them on a plate. Seems a little like a "bread sandwich" with all the grain in the bean burger. We do love chickpeas, though, in just about anything. I may have to make these today to have with a salad for dinner tonight.
ReplyDeleteBack when we were still vegetarians, we ate a lot of falafel burgers in buns, like Amy wrote. But now,if we want a burger in a roll, it's grass-fed local beef.
I have never heard of using Chickpeas in that way! That sounds way interesting, I am definitely going to put that into my Cook'n Software so that I can has quick access to it and be able to make it easily!
ReplyDeleteI am way excited, and my tummy is rumbling, this is going to be great!
Those look great! I love chickpea burgers!
ReplyDelete