Middle Eastern Chickpea Burgers
Makes 17 small patties
These chickpea burgers are similar to a Middle Eastern falafel. But the Americanized version of falafel usually resembles carnival food: they’re often deep-fried.
Here the secret ingredient is basmati rice b.s. I used a Lundgren wild rice & whole grain mix. I'm sure any of the fat rices would be fine. Can't imagine what is so great about basmati in this usage, which holds the chickpea mixture together and helps create a complete protein. Gently pan-seared or baked, these burgers are bountiful, healthful bites, especially good when topped with a dollop of tomato-mint chutney.
MAKE AHEAD: The baked burgers can be refrigerated for 3 to 5 days. To freeze these burgers, either cooked or uncooked, stack them with parchment paper between each one, then wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Once defrosted, cooked burgers can be reheated at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and uncooked burgers can be baked at 375 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes.
Adapted from “The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery,” by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson (Celestial Arts, 2009).
2 cups cooked chickpeas (may substitute a 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed and mixed with a spritz of freshly squeezed lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 or 2 small cloves garlic, minced (2 teaspoons)
1/2-inch piece piece peeled ginger root, minced (1 teaspoon)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 1/2 cups cooked brown basmati rice
3 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper
Leaves from 1/3 bunch flat-leaf parsley, minced (1/4 cup loosely packed)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the chickpeas, salt, turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, oil and lemon juice in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and fold in the rice, bell pepper and parsley.
Moisten your hands to keep the mixture from sticking to them, nonsense!! treat them like cookies; plop them onto the sheet then flatten somewhat with a spatula (indeed some of the batter made it to this point) then shape the mixture into seventeen 1/4-inch-thick patties about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the patties start to look crisp on the outside. They will firm up as they cool.
VARIATION: For a crispy burger, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the patties for about 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Per patty: 102 calories, 3 g protein, 16 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 65 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber, 1 g sugar
3 comments:
yum--I may try to make these for Michael, who loves all things chickpea, this weekend!
Wow! That looks great. I have tried making black bean and chickpea burgers from the recipe book (Supernatural cooking) Suzanne gave me for Christmas. I could never get them quite right. They used bread crumbs instead of rice as a binder. I also like your tip about not shaping with one's hands - that gets messy! In Supernatural Cooking, the author recommends instead of putting the patty in a bun, cutting it in half lengthwise and putting the traditional burger toppings inside the burger and eating it that way. We have stuffed ours with sprouts, tomatoes, and avocado. It works really well.
I don't think the guys I made would survive stuffing. But I think that putting sprouts, tomatoes and avocado on top would be fabulous, especially if you are in California.
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