Advertisement
Recipes

Chickpea-falafel burger: Vegetarian for dinner

I love falafels. I love chickpeas. I love (veggie) burgers. So this meal seemed like a winner

Chickpea-falafel-burger-with-cucumber-0-l

With chef in training out of town I decided it was a good week to go vegetarian, at least for my meals (mini sous chef has a deep, deep love of ham that can’t be denied). I’d been hankering for homemade veggie burgers, so I flipped open Chatelaine’s Summer’s Best cookbook and dog-eared the chickpea-falafel burger with cucumber.

I love falafels. I love chickpeas. I love (veggie) burgers. So this meal seemed like a winner, at least for my taste buds. I was curious how all the ingredients and flavours would mingle (chickpeas, lentils, cucumber, egg, parsley, green onion, garlic, oats, chili powder), but I trusted Chatelaine’s kitchen: they have yet to steer me wrong. So while the mini happily gobbled her eggs and ham, I worked on the burgers.

First you whirl the oats in the food processor until they become a rough flour consistency. Then you add the chickpeas, onions, egg, garlic, salt, chili powder, and oregano (which I left out – not a fan), and whirl again until the mixture is smooth. You’ll need to scrape the sides to make sure everything gets mixed well, but within a couple of minutes it was done. Then the mixture is stirred in a bowl with the lentils, cucumber, and parsley, and you’re ready to make the patties. This is the point where I began to have some doubts. The mixture was gooey, far too soft to form easily into any kind of patty. So I did the best I could and placed the burgers carefully in the oil sprayed pan. Luckily, after the first flip they had crisped up enough on one side to hold together and I was back in business.

Now this isn't the prettiest burger you’ll ever make, but it tasted so much like a falafel I was practically drooling for a doughy pita to accompany it. Instead, as I was pita-less, I enjoyed my burger with tzatziki and fresh cucumber and tomato slices. And while the chili powder didn’t overpower, if you have spice-sensitive dinner guests you may want to reduce it or eliminate it entirely. These burgers kept well for lunch the next day, by which time I had (thankfully) restocked my pita supply. Craving curbed.

GET CHATELAINE IN YOUR INBOX!

Subscribe to our newsletters for our very best stories, recipes, style and shopping tips, horoscopes and special offers.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Advertisement
Advertisement