Thursday, April 24, 2008

Garlicky Garbanzo Burgers

I love looking at the newspaper on Wednesday because I know that is when they print the Food section. Lately they have had some great recipes. We had these burgers along with Zucchini Soup (posted below) for a great meatless meal!

GREAT GARLICKY GARBANZO BURGERS adapted from The Deseret News
Start to finish: 20 minutes
1 1/4 cups bread crumbs
4 cloves fresh garlic
1 small onion (for about 1/3 cup finely minced)
1/4 green bell pepper (for about 1/4 cup minced)
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 Tbls olive oil
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fat free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 sandwich buns, for serving
4 lettuce leaves, for serving
4 tomato slices, for serving

Put the bread crumbs into a medium-size mixing bowl. Set aside.
Peel the garlic, and drop the cloves through the feed tube of the food processor with the motor running to finely mince them. Peel the onion, cut it in quarters and place them in the food-processor bowl with the minced garlic. Cut the bell pepper piece into quarters, and add them to the processor bowl. Pulse the motor until the onion and pepper are finely minced but not mushy, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the minced vegetables to the mixing bowl with the breadcrumbs.
Open the chickpea can and pour 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the can into the processor bowl. Then drain the chickpeas into a colander, discarding the remaining liquid, and rinse the chickpeas under cool tap water to remove excess sodium. Shake the colander to remove as much water as possible, and add the chickpeas to the processor bowl. Add the egg. Pulse just until the chickpeas are finely chopped but still have some texture. Add the chickpea mixture to the mixing bowl, along with the black pepper and salt. Stir until all of the ingredients are well mixed. Taste the mixture and season with additional salt if necessary.
Begin heating the oil in an extra-deep 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Shape the mixture into patties by first squeezing 1/4 of the mixture in your hands to make a tight ball. Flatten the ball into a patty, making it as thin as you can before it starts to crack. Repeat with the remaining mixture to make three more patties. Pour the 1/3 cup of flour onto a plate, and dredge the chickpea patties lightly in flour on each side. (Discard any remaining flour.) Add the patties to the hot oil, and fry until golden brown on each side, about 3 minutes per side.
While the patties cook, stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
To serve, remove the patties from the skillet and place each on a bun. Top with lettuce, tomato and 1 tablespoon of the lemon-mayonnaise mixture (or to taste).
Yield: 4 servings.

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