Meatless Monday: Chickpea, Cheese & Onion Veggie Burgers

“One of the greatest opportunities to live our values – or betray them – lies in the food we put on our plates”     -Jonathan Saffran Foer, Eating Animals

Ever since reading books like “Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “Eating Animals” and seeing the movie “Forks Over Knives“, I have made an effort to limit my consumption of animal products including meat, fish, dairy and eggs.  This isn’t to say that I don’t eat these things.  I just try to limit them in my diet.  I think there are so many compelling reasons to cut back on meat consumption.  For me, these include the global and environmental impact of factory farming, the painful truth about the conditions in which the animals are raised and slaughtered, and the health implications of consuming animal protein.  While I was trying to make sense of the information that I was learning, I thought the answer was to purchase organic or farm-raised meat and dairy.  But after reading The China Study and seeing the documentary “Forks Over Knives”, I learned that degenerative diseases such as diabetes and heart disease and some forms of cancer have all been linked to the consumption of animal protein, some of which can be reversed through a plant-based diet.   Seeing as how these diseases run in my family, I made the decision to start experimenting with more plant-based recipes and make a concerted effort to cut back on animal protein.

For our family, a flexitarian approach works best.  My husband prefers to eat a higher protein diet and our kids don’t care for meat very much – either way, I would never force anyone to change or eat something they don’t want. I tried to cut out all meat completely for a couple of years, but in the end it was just too much trying to cook different meals to please everyone.  I could take a simple classic like Broccoli, Cheese, and Chicken Casserole and spend an hour and a half making it three different ways: traditional style with a homemade soup base (no canned soups for us!) with the chicken and cheese, some without the chicken, and mine with a cashew “cheeze” sauce and no chicken.  It just couldn’t go on that way every night for dinner!  I also wasn’t happy with the amount of mock-meat substitutes that I was relying on in order to feed everyone a similar dinner.  Therefore I have tried to simplify our meals by cooking a couple of vegetarian meals a week and include some meat the rest of the week for each person to choose whether or not they want to include it.

This is a decision that I am very much at peace with now.  Most days, I eat vegetarian or vegan until dinner.  When we do include animal protein, I try to buy the most humanely raised meat, eggs and dairy that I can reasonably locate and can afford.   I feel like it has brought a little bit of balance back to my diet and I am a much more sane and happy person when it comes time to make dinner.

Tonights dinner was a new-to-us vegetarian recipe that was cut out of the newspaper by my husband.  I always try to make any vegetarian recipes he suggests since he is the most apprehensive about meatless dishes.  This one was a veggie burger from “The Meat-Free Monday Cookbook” by Paul McCartney and his daughters, Stella and Mary.  It had great “meaty” flavor and just a hint of spice and held together very well compared to other veggie burger recipes I’ve made.  Even my kids gave it the thumbs up.  That is a winner in my book!

Chickpea, Cheese & Onion Burgers

Adapted from “The Meat-Free Monday Cookbook”

3 T. olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I probably used closer to 1/8 tsp)

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (I use the pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joes)

1 T. tahini

2 T. fresh parsley, chopped

1 egg, beaten

2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (see directions below)

1 1/2 cups swiss cheese, shredded

1/2 tsp. salt

Flour, for dusting

Directions

For fresh breadcrumbs, toast 4 slices of Ezekial sprouted grain bread.  Pulse in a food processor until breadcrumb consistency and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook over  medium heat until tender. Add garlic, cumin and cayenne, and  cook 30 seconds. Remove from the heat.

Put lentils and chickpeas into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until  coarsely chopped. Add onion mixture, tahini and parsley, and pulse again until  combined and nearly smooth. Spoon into a large bowl and add egg, breadcrumbs and  cheese. Mix using your hands and add salt and pepper. Shape into patties and  lightly dust with flour.

Heat remaining oil in a large skillet (I used my cast iron which gave them a nice “crust” on the outside). Place burgers in pan cook until  golden on both sides (about 5 minutes per side).