Lentil-Chickpea Burger

I was at a dinner party last night and heard a couple people mention following me on facebook and reading my blog (I love when that happens), and then someone said, "But I haven't seen much lately"  (I hate when that happens!).  But he was right.  I've been so busy cooking for other people, having classes and doing freelance recipe writing and editing (and don't get me wrong - I'm loving it!), but that has left my poor little blog neglected.

So here I am, with one of my favorite new veggie burger recipes: Lentil-Chickpea Burgers.  I made it last month for one of my weekly clients who's interested in eating more vegetarian meals, and it was such a hit that she requests it every week.  Sounds like a good comeback blog item to me.....

I start out by cooking lentils.  I prefer green lentils because they tend to hold up better than red lentils.  You only need 1 cup of cooked lentils for the burgers, but I find it a little more difficult to cook small amounts of lentils, so I go ahead and use 1 cup uncooked; it'll yield more lentils than you need, but you can save the rest and add to soup or a salad.  Put the lentils and enough water to cover by a couple inches (usually 3 times the amount of dried lentils) in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  I only cook them for about 10 minutes, so they are still fairly firm.  Then drain them, measure out 1 cup and put them in a food processor.

Add a can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), some shredded carrot, chopped scallion, fresh cilantro, ground cumin and coriander, lemon zest and salt & pepper.  Pulse it to break down the ingredients a bit , then add an egg and some panko and pulse again until fully combined.

Since I work with people who avoid both of those last ingredients, I have a couple alternatives for you, if you are in the same boat: instead of an egg, you can make a flax slurry - 1 tablespoon ground flax meal mixed with 3 tablespoons water is the equivalent to 1 egg (let it sit for a couple minutes to congeal), and if you are going gluten-free, just place a couple slices of toasted gluten-free bread in a food processor and blend until you have breadcrumbs.

Form the mixture into 4-6 patties, depending on the size you like and pan fry in oil about 4-5 minutes per side until lightly browned - a cast iron skillet will help facilitate that beautiful browning.  Leave enough space between patties so that you can easily flip them.

I top mine with a little avocado sauce - blend 1 avocado, juice of 1 lime, a handful of cilantro, about 1/2 cup water and a pinch of salt in a Bullet or mini chopper.  If you only have a blender, this amount may be too small to blend properly, so double it, using just enough water to get the consistency you like. 

Lentil-Chickpea Burgers
Serves 4

1 cup cooked green lentils
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
1 large scallion, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 cup panko
1 egg, lightly beaten
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

• Place cooked lentils, chickpeas, carrot, cilantro, scallion, zest, cumin and coriander in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 4-5 times to break down the ingredients.
• Add panko, egg, salt and pepper and continue to pulse until well blended.
• Form into 4-6 patties, depending on your taste.
• Heat oil in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) and cook 4-5 minutes per side until lightly browned.

Yum it up.....and cook happy!

Veggie-Chickpea Curry

 I got a fistful of "what the heck?" today. 

 

I recently started volunteering at my friend Francesca's Ceres Project in Sonoma. The Ceres Project is a beautiful non-profit that teaches teens to cook, and then takes the meals that they prepare and delivers them to cancer patients and their families.  Francesca was a student of mine in culinary school, and graduated with the idea of opening a restaurant.  But after a year of volunteering for Ceres, she decided to open a new branch of the program in her home town of Sonoma.  A brave and selfless move, and one of the reasons I love this lady.

 

Another one of her classmates, Lorrine, volunteers on Tuesdays, too.  When I showed up today she took one look at me and said, quite passionately, "Why aren't you blogging?!"  She told me how she loved reading my blogs and making my recipes.  I was shamed!  I realized that I've been working for other people so much that I've left behind my beloved blog.  So this is for you, Lorrine and Francesca.....

 

My new favorite one-pot meal is Veggie Chickpea Curry.  I was inspired by a recipe I found that included browning chickpeas for a stir fry.  A lot of times it takes just one little thing like that, that I find interesting, and a dish just kind of evolves.

 

 onions, cremini mushrooms, red bell peppers, baby spinach, broccoli, and zucchini

 

 jalapeno, ginger, garlic

 

 

 The key to this dish is getting the chickpeas completely dry.  I popped them in the oven for about 10 minutes to dry them out (I've tested this recipe A LOT and this is the best way to be sure they are dry, and therefore brown appropriately).  Heat a little olive oil in a skillet and add the chickpeas, tossing occasionally until lightly browned.  Removed them from the skillet and add the onion to the skillet. When the onions started to soften, add sliced mushrooms and let them do their thing, too.  "Let them do their thing" means "don't stir them all the time."  I notice in my classes that people loooove to stir.  We think we're not cooking if we're just standing there.  But if you want to get a nice brown on these mushrooms (and you do), you have to let them sit on the heat.  Stir them only occasionally to brown them evenly.  Next, create a little opening in the center of the skillet and add chopped garlic, ginger and jalapeno pepper.

After a few minutes, make another hole and add Madras curry powder (my fave curry) and let that toast for a minute or two to bring out the smoky flavor.  Now we need some color..... sliced red bell pepper, broccoli and zucchini - use whatever veggies you like.  And then we need some yumminess.....coconut milk.

Cover the skillet and let it simmer for 5 minutes, then throw in the chickpeas, a handful of baby spinach and a good pinch of salt.  So pretty, right?  Even more delicious than pretty.  Serve it over brown rice and your taste buds will love you.  OK, technically that makes is a two-pot meal, but.....

Feel free to add any veggies you like. The combo of chickpeas and rice creates a complete protein, but chicken, shrimp or pork are a nice addition if you're needing more.  And why not?

Go ahead, give it a try.  Fast and fabulous....just the way I like it!

Veggie-Chickpea Curry
Serves 4

1 cup short grain brown rice
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo), rinsed and drained

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 cup thinly sliced onion

8 ozs. cremini mushrooms

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon Madras curry powder

1 15-oz can coconut milk

2 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced 

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 cups baby spinach, stems removed

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

Sea salt and pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cook brown rice according to package.  Set aside.
• Place chickpeas on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until dry.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chickpeas until lightly browned.  Remove from pan and set aside.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoon oil in skillet and add onions and mushrooms. Saute 5-10 minutes until crisp-tender.
• Move veggies to sides of skillet and create a well.  Add jalapeno pepper, ginger and garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.
• Mix jalapeno mixture into the veggies, stirring to combine well.
• Create another well and add curry powder.  Let toast 1 minute and then stir into the rest of the ingredients.
• Stir in coconut milk.  Add broccoli, zucchini and red bell pepper, stirring to combine.
• Cover, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, until broccoli is crisp-tender.
• Stir in spinach, basil and chickpeas, tossing until spinach is wilted.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve over brown rice.

 

Get cookin'......you can thank me later!