When I can’t sleep I contemplate one of two things. One, exactly what I would say to Paul Weller if we ever happen to cross paths. So far I’ve got, “Umm, excuse me … Paul? Umm. Hi. Umm. In the city, umm, there’s a thousand things, umm, I want to say to you.” Ughhh. Is it possible to be mortified by a hypothetical situation?
And two, I ponder the ancient question: chickpea or lentil? I know, I know, there’s no need to choose one over the other. But what if I had to, in a “stranded on a deserted island” situation?
Well, today I choose the mighty, magical chickpea, a legume packed with protein, zinc and folate. I know this recipe seems a bit labor intensive, but it really is worth it. An hour in the kitchen will yield happy in the belly all evening. So put on some dancing tunes and get to it! But be careful, I almost lost a finger chopping garlic while mashed potato-ing to “11th Dimension.”
Ingredients
Makes five good sized burgers
Burgers
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 scallions/green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 large carrot, diced
1 tablespoon water
1 15-ounce/425 grams canned chickpeas, rinsed
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons leaf parsley, finely minced
Chips
2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1.5cm by 6cm fries/chips
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
Yoghurt Sauce
½ cup/100ml plain soya yoghurt
1 tablespoon tahini paste
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tablespoons parsley, finely minced
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pinch black pepper, to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/gas mark 7.
While the oven is heating up, chop all your ingredients.
Toss cut sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste. Bake for 20 minutes on a big cookie sheet. Give potatoes a good shuffle, and bake for ten more minutes.
When the potatoes go in the oven, begin heating one tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add scallions, 3 cloves minced garlic and carrots. Sauté for five minutes. Add oregano and chili powder. Sauté for two minutes and turn off heat. Add one tablespoon water to deglaze the pan. Set aside to cool a bit.
In a food processor, or using your hands, mash rinsed chickpeas as best you can. Not liquefied, just mashy. If you have trouble breaking the chickpeas down, add one teaspoon olive oil to ease the process.
In a bowl, combine sautéed vegetables, mashy chickpeas, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons minced parsley. Use a spoon, you might burn your hands!
Shape mixture into 5 patties, using your hands. Lightly oil the bottom of a clean skillet (sorry! You’re going to have to wash that one you used earlier. If you don’t, you’ll have little burned bits from the remnants of the vegetables) and heat over medium heat.
Carefully place patties on pan, avoiding cooking your fingers. Fry four minutes each side, flipping once, gingerly. Your burgers are delicate, they might break up a little, but it’s ok. They taste just as good, no matter what shape they’re in.
While burger patties are frying, whisk together yoghurt, tahini, grated garlic, parsley, lemon juice, pinch of salt and black pepper. As you whisk, the sauce thickens, nearly to the consistency of mayonnaise.
By the time the burgers are done, the chips should be too.
Serve burger with chips and a dollop of yoghurt sauce, along with a sliver of avocado and a few tomato slices. Enjoy!