Chickpea Veggie Burgers

I tried to play the "don't go to the grocery store" game again.  I had already started soaking the garbanzo beans when I realized that my original idea to put these on gorditas wasn't going to work.  You shouldn't put a fried patty on a fried bun.  So I picked up some hamburger buns and sweet potatoes to have on the side, plus a couple little things I had prepared to do without for a few days.  I love grocery shopping on my days off, but forcing myself to go on the way home from work is exhausting.

I started with this recipe from BBC Good Food, then had to estimate non-metric measurements.  Complicating it even more, I chose to use leftover matzoh meal instead of breadcrumbs.  I think I didn't use enough, because they kind of fell apart.  Either that, or I added too much lemon juice.  Half of one of my lemons is considerably more than half a market lemon.  I also think I over-processed the mix.  This does not affect the taste of the burger, just its texture.

These are easy to compare to falafels because both are chickpea-based and have some of the same flavorings.  Plus, they leant themselves to a yogurt dressing instead of mayo or ketchup.  I was also reminded of the lentil patties I made once.

1 15oz can chickpeas or 2/3 C dry
*1 large carrot
*1 lemon
1 tsp cumin
*1 clove garlic
*1 bunch coriander (cilantro)
1 egg
1/4 C breadcrumbs
*1 small red onion
olive oil
kosher salt
ground pepper

1.  If using dry chickpeas, soak for at least 18 hours and drain.  Simmer for 1 hour in lightly salted water and drain.  For the can, drain and rinse.

2.  Get out the food processor.  Peel carrot and cut off ends, then use the processor's shredder to grate it.  Switch to the regular blade.  Add zest of the lemon and the juice of half of it (about 2 Tb).  Cut onion in half.  Hang onto half of it for burger garnish and coarsely chop the rest.  Toss in processor, along with chickpeas, cumin, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, a generous sprinkle of pepper, a pinch of salt, and half of the cilantro.  Pulse until well mixed, but not completely puréed.  Refrigerate for 30 min to let it firm.

3.  While that's resting, you can make up your garnishes.  Slice the onion, maybe slice a tomato and some cucumber, and pull off the toughest stems from the remaining cilantro.  I made a dressing by combining a 6 oz container of plain Greek yogurt with about 1/4 tsp dried dill and 1 Tb chopped fresh mint.

4.  When ready, heat 1 Tb olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  The original recipe made four fat burgers.  Mine wouldn't hold height and I made 8 thinner ones.  Fry for about 4 minutes per side, until well browned and crispy.  Toast hamburger buns, slice pitas, or go healthy with whole-grain rolls. Place tomato and/or cucumber on bottom to support the patty, then the patty itself.  Top with cilantro leaves and a dollop of yogurt or other sauce of choice.

Difficulty rating :)