Chickpea burgers

It's almost barbecue season! This weekend was the first real spring-like taste we've had so far in 2011. The snow is slowly retreating from my backyard, revealing some pretty nasty looking grass. I hope the lawn elves come by soon to rake everything up. But since it'll be several weeks before I actually haul my barbecue out of the garage and fire it up, I thought I would give these burgers a try. In truth, I wanted to make something with chickpeas again and this seemed like a nice compromise. As far as veggie burgers go, these ones are okay, but didn't knock my socks off. They're nicely spiced, but if I were to make them again, I'd increse the amount of spices and garlic. I also found them a bit too sweet with the carrot and red pepper. Maybe a little grated horseradish would provide a much-needed kick? Anyway, start by blending up the chickpeas, pepper and carrots in the food processor. You'll likely have to scrape down the sides several times to get everything the same consistency.

Blend until you end up with something like this. The result was much redder than I had anticipated, due to the pepper and carrot.

Then scrape the puree into a bowl and add in the oninons you sauteed earlier. The recipe says specifically not to brown them, so kindly ignore the brown flecks on mine. Note the spices in the right hand corner. Also, I didn't have bread crumbs, so I substituted in oats, the quick cooking kind. Oh, and you'll have to imagine half a cup of parsley, because I didn't have any of that either.

Shape into patties and set to bake on a pan drizzled with olive oil. The recipe says to make 10-12 patties, but I settled on seven. If you did go for a dozen, the burgers would be more slider size than a regular patty.

And here's what the final product looks like. I had to cook them a bit longer than stated, and I flipped them over part way through to get even browning on both sides. I didn't eat these burger style (e.g. on a bun with fixings) but you definitely could. For the leftovers, I'm going to whip up some kind of yogurt sauce for these. They need a little "something".

Chickpea burgers Adapted from The Three Greek Sisters and as seen on Cityline Preheat oven to 400F Makes 10-12 patties 2 tssp olive oil 1 yellow onion, diced 2 cups chickpeas, cooked 1 red pepper, deseeded and quartered 2 cloves garlic, sliced 1 carrot, chopped 1 1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cumin, group 1/4 tsp corriander, ground 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced olive oil for coating 1) Heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool. 2) Place the chickpeas, red pepper, garlic, and carrot in a food processor and pulse until all of the ingredients are blended. Transfer to the large bowl with the onions. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and use your hands to combine the ingredients. 3) Shape the mixture into patties and use a brush to lightly grease both sides of the patties with olive oil. 4) Transfer the patties to a baking sheet and place in the middle of a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the patties are golden-brown on both sides. 5) Use a spatula to remove the patties from the baking sheet. Serve on a bun with your favourite garnishes: pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, red onions, the possibilities are endless! NOTE … The chickpea mixture can be prepared on the morning of serving day and stored in the refrigerator until ready to shape into patties.

Andalusian chicken-noodle soup with chickpeas

You wouldn't know it from the past couple of balmy days, but fall really is here, and that means soup weather!

This soup is the very definition of a meal in a bowl, and it would be the perfect thing to warm you up after a few hours of leaf raking, which is what I forsee in my future this weekend. I've made this soup twice now, and neither time did I have the required sherry. I think the first time I tried to cheat a bit with some red wine vinegar, but it was a poor substitute I'm sure. So go on and splurge for some sherry if you give this a try.

Start by poaching your chicken in the stock and herbs. I used bone on chicken breasts both time, because I think they have more flavour. I did remove the skin prior to poaching though.

Then cook your sausage and add in the veggies. One time I used a fresh chiorizo sausgage, which I removed from the casing and cooked just like ground meat. The second attempt at this soup used some of the chopped chured sausage. Can't say I had a preference, as both were pretty good.

While the vegetables are softening, you shred your chicken. This recipe yields a lot of meat, which helps to make it hearty.

Then add the broth back to the pot, cook your noodles, and toss in the meat, chickpeas and parsley. Almost ready to serve!

Serve in a warm bowl alongside some homemade biscuits and you've got yourself a pretty satisfying dinner.

Andalusian chicken-noodle soup with chickpeas (From Food & Drink Autumn 2010)

8 cups homemade or low sodium chicken stock
2 bone in chicken breasts, skin removed
2 bay leaves
1 leafy spring of flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp olive oil
4 oz (125g) cooked sweet or hot chorizo sausage, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
½ c dry sherry
2 oz spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
½ tsp each salt and freshly ground pepper
1 can (540 ml) chickpeas drained and rinsed
½ c finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. In large saucepan, combine stock, chicken breasts, bay leaves and parsley sprig. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes or until chicken breasts are no longer pink inside. With a slotted spoon, remove chicken breasts from stock and set aside to cool slightly.

2. When chicken breasts are cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and shred meat finely. Set aside.

3. In large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add chorizo and cook stirring for 3 to 5 minutes or until chorizo starts to brown and renders some of its fat. Add onion, carrot and potato. Cook, stirring for 5 to 7 minutes or until onion is softened but not brown. Add garlic and paprika. Cook stirring for one minute or until fragrant.

4. Add sherry. Bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pot. Boil for 2 minutes or until sherry has almost evaporated.

5. Strain stock into Dutch oven, bring to a boil over high heat. Add spaghetti, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer partially covered for 8 to 10 minutes or until potato and spaghetti are tender.

6. Stir in reserved chicken meat and chickpeas. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 2 minutes for flavours to blend; stir in parsley. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Ladle into warm soup bowls.

Serves 6 to 8

Chickpea soup with Israeli couscous

I think I've reference my recent obsession with dried chickpeas here before. Well, now I'm keen to try them out in just about any kind of recipe, so when I stumbled across this one, I knew I wanted to give it a try.

I managed to track down Israeli couscous at a local Middle Eastern market, where the package was actually labelled "Jerusalem" couscous. The grains, if you can call them that, are about the size of peas, so they cook up like little doughy balls in the soup. If I were to make the recipe again, I'd skip the method suggested, and just boil them up in the broth until tender, before adding to the soup.

I also found I needed to add more liquid to the soup than called for, and I found the overall flavour a little bland. I think I will bump up the garlic and spice quotient next time. And I didn't have any fresh oregano to add (or dried for that matter), but I don't think that was the missing link.

Flavour aside, this recipe makes a ton of soup, so I have lots of leftovers in my freezer. It's an incredibly hearty meal on its own, what with the chickpeas, veggies and pasta-y couscous floating around. That being said, a bowl is made infinitely better with a generous mound of parmesan, which will slowly melt into the welcoming goodness, and will add a nice salty kick at the same time.


Chickpea soup with Israeli couscous

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped zucchini
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cans chickpeas, well rinsed and drained, or about three cups of chickpeas, cooked from dry
1 14 oz. can Italian tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (depending on how spicy you like your soup)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
6 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cumin
sea salt to taste

Couscous:

3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups Israeli couscous
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1. In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add onions, carrots, and dry spices and saute until onions are a bit caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add zucchini, tomatoes (with juice), lemon juice, garlic and fresh herbs and continue to cook for about five minutes longer. Cut the tomatoes in half with a wooden spoon while the soup continues to cook.

2. Add vegetable broth and chickpeas, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. While the soup is cooking, make couscous. In a medium sauce pan with a lid, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat, add couscous and lightly brown (about 5 minutes). Add 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until most of the stock has been absorbed. Fluff cous cous up with a fork and add chopped mint right before serving. Serve soup with a scoop of cous cous, garnish with additional herbs if desired.

Squash and chickpea moroccon stew

I bought a butternut squash a while ago that was threatening to get up and walk right out of my fridge if it didn't get used. So I did a bit of searching and came up with this recipe that looked like a tasty combination of veggies and spices to keep you warm on a cold autumn night. It also appealed because of the addition of chickpeas, one of my favourite ingredients (quick sidenote: my workplace, until recently, had a ban against nuts in the office. On that list were chickpeas. Because they're nuts? What? Thankfully the ban has been lifted, so it's hummus time again).

I actually bought dried chickpeas for this recipe and decided to try them out. They're a bit more labour intensive than opening a can, but not too taxing. All you have to do is soak the beans overnight, then boil the next day for about 40 minutes. Not really a weeknight dinner option, but if you make this stew on a weekend, as I did, it's very doable.

I find both the flavour and texture of these dried babies to be better than canned beans. Plus, if you're like me and routinely lug heavy groceries up flights of stairs, in elevators and down halls, a bag of dried peas is much lighter than a can to carry -- and easier on your wallet too.

So here's how it started. Peeling and chopping one butternut squash. Not the easiest job, especially if you're me and are allergic to squash flesh. It's true! The skin on my hands starts to peel when I handle squash or pumpkin, so I could never carve the jack o' lantern as a kid (insert sympathetic 'awww' here).

Chopping the potatoes, crushing the cumin seeds and getting the cinnamon stick ready. Do you think I have enough? By the way, my mortar and pestle is from Atelier Orange -- it's beautiful to look at and to use.


Here's everything simmering away on the stove. I let this cook a bit too long and the squash lost its shape and became a bit mushy.

Finishe product, garnished with plain yoghurt, a dash of hot sauce and some almonds. I served it over couscous, but I'm sure it would also be good over some brown rice. Next time I'd bump up the spices a bit, as this was a little more bland than I would have liked. It is, however, an incredibly filling meal, and a good veggie alternative to a traditional meat stew.

Squash and Chickpea Moroccan Stew (From smittenkitchen.com)

Serves 6 to 8

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
4 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound butternut squash, large dice
3/4 pound red potatoes, large dice
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained (*I used dry beans. I cup dry makes about two cups cooked)
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices
Pinch saffron threads (optional) (*I used saffron stolen from Budapest!)
1/2 preserved lemon, finely chopped (*I substituted lemon zest)
1 cup brined green olives
Steamed couscous, for serving
Fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped, for garnish (*I used parsley instead)
Toasted slivered almonds, for garnish
Plain yogurt, for garnish
Hot sauce of your choice (for serving)

Heat butter and olive oil in a 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan with a tight fitting lid over medium heat. When oil shimmers, add onion, garlic, cumin, and cinnamon, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spices are aromatic and onions are soft and translucent, about five minutes.

Add squash and potatoes, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, stir to coat, and cook until just tender, about three minutes. Add broth, chickpeas, tomatoes and their juices, and saffron, if using. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until squash is fork tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in preserved lemon and olives. Serve over couscous garnished with cilantro, almonds, and yoghurt.