First of all, pay your respects to the garbanzo burger, and then say goodbye to your weak veggie burgers. Forget them. They’re dead to you. 

Veggie burgers, on a whole, are pretty lame. Don’t get me wrong, the concept is great. I love vegetables, and definitely support them becoming burgers. Somehow, though, the great taste of vegetables never translated well in the over processed, store bought veggie burger. Until, that is, Heidi Swanson came along and decided to change all that. If you don’t read 101 Cookbooks, you’re missing out. She consistently offers posts full of excellent photos and delicious, innovative recipes.

Em and I have been lusting after her Ultimate Veggie Burger recipe for some time, both on the screen and the page. We made it, with great success, last week, and I found myself craving it again, but with slight modifications. We’ll get to those in a minute. In the meantime, cooking porn awaits. 

Sprouts, cilantro, red onions, and garlic. You know how sometimes you spend an extraordinary amount of time chopping up ingredients that disappear in a cooked dish? Not these. There really wasn’t too much chopping involved, and I tasted ever bit of it in the burgers.

The oats! Come on, you knew this was coming. We need to explore the multifarious uses of oats. They’ve been held back by societal (breakfast) expectations for too long. Let them realize their poatential! (Seriously, I couldn’t help it.) 

I used my immersion blender to pulverize old fashioned oats, and added a dash of salt, pepper, and oregano. The recipe calls for toasted breadcrumbs, so I cooked the oats over medium heat until evenly browned.

I pretty much love lemon zest in anything, but I’d also like you to admire my tiny grater.

Peace out, weak veggie burgers. All hail to the garbanzo burger!

Garbanzo Burgers

adapted from 101 Cookbooks
1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Zest a lemon
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup of sprouts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of toasted oat crumbs, seasoned to taste

Combine garbanzo beans, salt, and eggs until they form a thick paste. I used my trusty immersion blender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Form patties, but keep in mind you’ll want to put additional yumminess in the middle, so perhaps make them a little tall and round. I also wanted them a bit smaller, so I made them about a little bigger than golf balls. Tennis balls would do just fine, too. Heat a skillet with some olive oil, if you like, and cook the burgers over medium heat until browned, about 6 minutes (depending on the size) on each side. When finished, carefully cut each patty in half — I think a serrated knife works best — and place fillings between. I’ve used sprouts, avocado, cheese, greens, and onions. Also, these are wonderful the next day, and make a pretty perfect lunch to bring to work. 

Serving size: Yields 8 mini burgers, or 4 larger patties. 

Enjoy! To leave a comment, click on the header.