No Meat Monday: Chickpea Burgers with Baked Potato and Veggie Crisps

No Meat Monday is a catchy little phrase I first saw at Whole Foods and soon learned that it's an ongoing international campaign. I decided to embrace this act - as well as removing meat from the most (but not all) of my meals - for health and environmental concerns (or, just being totally freaked out after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma). I'll admit that changing my diet is a challenge. Dinner used to be a simple task...simply cook meat, carbs, and veggies, and you'd be good to go. Nowadays, dinner takes research and creativity to ensure a healthy, flavorful, and most of all filling, meal.

I made chickpea burgers with baked potato and veggie crisps. The meal met all of my meatless requirements...check it out!


Chickpea Burgers

• 15 oz can of chickpeas
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped red onion
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp whole wheat flour (plus 1/2 cup for dredging - see below)
  
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• avocado and tomato slices for topping
• 2 fresh rolls
• olive oil for cooking
  

Rinse chickpeas and mash with a potato masher in mixing bowl until it's mostly paste (a few whole chickpeas is okay). Add red onion, egg, flour, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix until completely combined.

Heat cast iron pan on medium heat. Add oil one minute prior to cooking.

Form four 1/2 inch-high patties out of chickpea mixture. Dredge in flour to avoid sticking. Place patties in fry pan and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes. Outer shell should be browned but not burned.

Once cooked, place patties on rolls. Top with avocado and tomato slices. I recommend adding a spread of some sort - I used Lemonaise and garlic hummus.

Baked Potato and Veggie Crisps

• 2 new potatoes (as in their type, not their age), thinly sliced
  
• 1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow squash, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp olive oil
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 375.

Coat potato, zucchini, and squash slices with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread slices over a baking sheet and bake in oven for 20 minutes, making sure slices don't burn.


Ease of Cooking: 8/10...this meal was a quick and easy meat-free dish that required only minimal muscle for mashing (M3 anyone?) and light chopping. I recommend preparing the crisps first so they cook while you prepare and cook the burgers. Everything is ready in about 30 minutes. Hopefully you're better with flour than I am...the stuff got all over and my boyfriend (who was on clean-up duty since I cooked) referred to the kitchen as a "war zone". Oops.

Leftover capability: 3/10...I only had one chickpea pattie leftover which probably could have been finished during dinner. I used the pattie for Tuesday's lunch and mixed it Kamut salad (from Whole Foods), home cooked beets, avocado, and goat cheese.

Overall: 6/10...I'll probably make this meal again for its ease and simplicity but it won't be my meatless go-to.