I was looking for a meatless burger to serve during Lent and other religious and cultural events when meat may not be not appropriate. I found a recipe and worked on it one Saturday to get the flavors I wanted in a "burger".

Always remember that any veggie burger may have all the flavor you want, BUT it will most likely NOT have the texture of meat. So, prepare you palate - the object is NOT to fool your taste buds, but to intrigue and engage them.


KITTY'S CHICKPEA BURGER

1 - 16oz can of chickpeas aka garbanzo beans, washed and drained
2 - small boiling potatoes, boiled, then mashed and chopped medium
1 - egg beaten or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup - shallots or red onion, chopped very fine
1 tblspn - fresh garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup lemon juice or 1 lemon juiced
2 tblspns - fresh mint or rosemary or cilantro, chopped fine
(optional) 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened or 1/4 cup firm tofu, roasted
(optional) 1/3 cup red, yellow or orange bell pepper, finely chopped
(optional) 1/3 cup poblano pepper, roasted, peeled, de-seeded and chopped fine

In a food processor, pulse the washed and drained garbanzo beans aka chickpeas.
Once they are medium chopped, add the chopped potatoes, the egg, the onion or shallots, the fresh garlic and the lemon juice. Pulse all of this together making a heavy, finely chopped paste. Be sure to scrape the sides of the processor frequently. Do not become concerned if the mixture seems dry.

Next, add in your choice of herb and any of the optional ingredients. Scrape the sides of the processor frequently and continue pulsing until all ingredients are well mixed in.

Pull 3/4 cup portions of the mixture and shape into a patty. Fry in skillet sprayed with vegetable or canola oil and preheated to medium heat. Cook 3 minutes on each side. Season with salt and pepper on each side. Serve on whole wheat bun or pita with lettuce, red onion slices, tomato and condiments. Try a chow-chow or fresh herb aioli!!

Experiment with peppers and find out whether your flavor choice is fresh or fresh-roasted! Roasting a pepper is very easy. Simply lightly coat the pepper with vegetable or canola oil spray. Heat on a cookie sheet in a 500 degree broil oven for 8 minutes - turning once at 4 minutes. OR - place UNOILED peppers directly on a gas stove burner that has been turned on low. When using the gas stove burner, turn the pepper frequently and once, all the skin is scorched....

Place the burner roasted or broiled bell peppers into a ziploc bag or paper lunch bag and close tightly. As the heated peppers cool, their skins will loosen and separate from the meat. After 15 minutes, remove the peppers from the bag and peel and discard the skins. Rinse well to ensure charred skin has been completely removed.

Deseed the bell peppers and chop as you would normally before adding into this recipe. This way of roasting bell peppers and hot peppers is a fast and easy way to get a deep, roasted flavor into your cooking. ENJOY!!