My falafel burgers turned out so well that I decided to apply the same principles for holding them together to a non-vegan recipe from Super Natural Cooking. The original recipe calls for 4 eggs… insane! Anyway, mine held together just fine, probably even better than the original.

They were really tasty, by the way, topped with Amy’s zucchini relish. I’m sorry to say (only because I know most of you reading don’t have any) that it made this burger. Yes, it was delicious on it’s own, but with the added sweetness and zing from the relish, I was in heaven. The golden tomatoes from my dad’s garden was also a nice treat. We had ours with some frozen fries (again) and some apples.

Chickpea Burgers

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight

1 cup chopped kale (about 2 small leaves), stems removed

1/3 cup cilantro (a generous handful will do)

Juice and zest from one large lemon (about 3 TB juice, 2 tsp zest)

6 TB flour

1/2 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup grated red onion

Combine chickpeas, kale, cilantro, and lemon juice and zest in a food processor. Pulse until the chickpeas are pureed. Add the flour and S&P and pulse a few more times to combine. The mixture should be thick and somewhat dry. Stir in the onion. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

When ready to cook, heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in bout 1 TB canola oil. Form the chickpea mixture into 8 patties and pan fry on both sides until golden brown. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes to firm up the centers.