the BEST veggie burgers
A few weeks ago, treatment I bought t 2 cookbooks, order something I haven’t done in many, bulimics many years. Usually, I collect recipes from various sites and organize them with the handy-dandy Gmail “recipe” label. But, for some reason I haven’t been able to find really good ice cream recipes online, and all the great ones that I did find seemed to come from the same book…David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop. So, I caved and I bought that. So far, I’ve made a handful of the sorbets and frozen yogurts, as well as the Vietnamese Coffee Ice cream (which was super duper delicious!).
In order to get my Super Saver free shipping on Amazon, I also purchased Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking, a beautiful book by one of my favorite bloggers. The book’s really helpful and informative with a lot of information regarding whole foods, and recipes and photos that make you drool. And while it’s a vegetarian cookbook, I find that it’s not hard to incorporate some meat. Even when I do end up sticking with the vegetarian version, I rarely miss the meat…that says something about the deliciousness of Heidi’s recipes.
So far, my favorite recipe is this Ultimate Veggie Burger. I’ve made it a few times now and it’s so fast and delicious that it has become my go-to recipe when I don’t have much in the fridge, or when I don’t feel like preparing an elaborate meal. Recipe after the jump…
Ultimate Veggie Burgers — adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking.
1 12 oz. can of chickpeas
2 large organic eggs
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
freshly ground salt & pepper
Splash of cream (optional)
handful of chopped cilantro
Using a food processor or hand blender, pulse the eggs and the chickpeas until they develop the consistency of a slightly chunky, loose hummus. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes so that the breadcrumbs soak up the liquid. Meanwhile, coat a skillet with a small amount of olive oil and heat on medium-high. Form the chickpea mixture into 5 patties and place on the skillet. Let the patties sit, undisturbed and covered, for about 10 minutes on the first side, and uncovered for 6-7 minutes on the other side. Flip carefully!
Once they’re done, they can be served up in a million different ways. This time, I opted to place them on a spinach salad and top them with spicy Spanish chorizo and some extra alfalfa sprouts. My favorite combination, though, is thinly sliced tomatoes, avocados and tahini. Delicious!