Inside Out Chickpea Burgers

Welcome to the inaugural cakeandedith blog post! I'm so glad you're here.

What was that? You love veggie burgers? Me too! I'm like a veggie burger junkie, if such a thing exists, and so I thought it would be fitting for my first post to document my first go at making homemade veggie burgers.

Soon though - I promise! - there will be cake. I love cake.

But let's not waste time on chitchat. You know where to find that. Let's get right to it.

Inside Out Chickpea Burgers

Adapted from 101cookbooks.com

1 15 oz can (or 1.5 cups) chickpeas

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2-3 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

zest of half a lemon

1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts, chopped

toasted crumbs from 1 slice of whole wheat bread, thrown in blender or food processor

1 tablespoon olive oil

For filling: lettuce, avocado, swiss cheese, Cholula or other condiments of choice

Place chickpeas, eggs, salt, pepper, cumin, and sun-dried tomatoes in food processor and puree until mixture is consistency of thick, slightly chunky hummus. In a separate bowl, combine the cilantro, red onion, lemon zest and sprouts with the chickpea mixture. Add the bread crumbs and mix with your hands or a fork until the mixture is sturdy enough to hold together. If it seems dry, add a bit of water, or even a teaspoon of olive oil. Form the mixture into 3/4" thick patties. My chickpea mixture made six regular-veggie-burger sized patties. Place the olive oil in a 12" nonstick skillet (or something comparable) and heat over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until they are browning a bit; it took 7 minutes per side on my stove top, which tends to be hotter than most. Once cooked, let cool for a minute and then fill with fixins of choice.

E-NC NOTES: (1) I thought the inside out aspect of the recipe sounded great. And, actually, it did taste great. But it was also just plain a whole lotta veggie burger. Maybe too much veggie burger if you aren't, say, a veggie burger junkie. MC ate his regular-style between two slices of toasted whole wheat bread and it was just as good, and more manageable. (2) Also, these do not reheat well. If you have leftovers, I suggest storing them in the refrigerator or freezer uncooked, and then pan-frying them right before eating. (3) Finally, to veganize the recipe (for you, Lisa J.-née-S.!), in lieu of eggs, use a mixture of 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed mixed with 4 tablespoons water, set to rest for a few minutes until it thickens.

And that is my first post as a food blogger. How'd I do?

[I designed the banner all by myself! (Everything else can mostly be attributed to MC.) I have ideas and ideas and ideas but ideas take time... so stay tuned. This, alas, is a work in progress.]