»Falafel« Chickpea Burgers with Cashew Sauce (vegan & gluten-free)

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falafel, burger, chickpea, vegan, gluten-free, lunch




I have to admit something... i've never had a burger before! And by never, i mean never (unless perhaps when i was a child but in that case it would have been McDonald's crap). It's a tragedy, i know...

But that has changed! I made my first ever - homemade! - VEGAN & GLUTEN-FREE BURGER and it was a-ma-zing!

So far i've learned the two basic rules of burger making:

(1) Stuff as much as you can in between the two bun halves. Sauce dripping out? Score!
(2) Make as much of a mess while eating as possible. The bigger and messier bites, the better.
 
There will be many more burger recipes coming, be sure of that. I'm hooked.

Another discovery i made is the recipe website Fat Free Vegan Kitchen which, you guessed it, contains a bunch of vegan, fat-free recipes by Susan Voisin. I'm in love with this page. Vegan AND fat-free? Totally me!

It is thanks to Susan and her Chickpea Burger recipe, which again is taken from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's book, The 30-Day Vegan Challenge, that i decided to make my own burgers, finally. Basically, the patties are made of chickpeas, oats and a ton of spices, sort of like a baked falafel - so if you like falafel, you'll love this one! 

As always, i slightly modified the recipe to my liking. Feel free to do the same :)


CHICKPEA BURGER

adapted from Susan @Fat Free Vegan Kitchen

Preparation time: 45 mins
Main ingredients: chickpeas, garlic, oats
difficulty level: easy
makes: 16 patties
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, low-fat, low-sodium

Ingredients

Patties:

3 cups chickpeas, cooked and drained
2 onions
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup chives (or parsley or any other herbs)
4 tsp cumin, ground
2 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp black pepper, ground
1 tsp sweet bell pepper powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups oats (gluten-free if gluten is an issue)

8-16 gluten-free buns

Sauce:

2 tbsp cashew butter
2 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
soy or rice milk, to taste

vegan, chickpea, burgers, gluten-free, bun
chickpea, patty, burger, bun, rice, gluten-free

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200°C. 

To make the patties:

First, pulse chickpeas in a food processor, or using an immersion blender. I was lazy, so i processed garlic and onions too, but obviously you don't need a food processor for that.

Combine processed ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add lemon juice, baking powder and spices. Then, slowly, add the oats and mix thoroughly until the mixture holds together. Shape into patties.

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper and place the patties on the prepared tray. Bake for 10–14 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom. Using a spatula, flip each patty over, and cook for another 10–14 minutes. 

In the meantime, prepare the cashew sauce! 

Also, place your buns in the oven for 10 minutes if you want them to be warm and a little crispy.

When golden brown, remove patties from the oven. (As Susan notes, you may fry the patties with a little oil in a pan on the stove top, alternatively.) 

For the sauce:

Combine all listed ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with the chickpea burgers, along with your favourite toppings: lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pickles, ... on a bun.

PS: The buns i used are gluten-free, organic store-bought buns  because i didn't want my first burger attempt to fail because of my bun-baking skills, haha. The white buns are made of corn starch, rice sour dough, corn flour, rice flour and other fun ingredients. The brown buns are made of pretty much the same except with sesame. Very tasty, both of them. But next time, i will make my own!

Cook once, eat twice

Since my boyfriend and I try to be as efficient as possible in the kitchen, we always cook enough food to cover dinner and lunch the next day. This recipe makes plenty of patties that taste just as amazing on the following day. Just make sure to freshly prepare the rest of your burger to prevent sogginess!


 




Maisy

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