Vegan Meal: Chickpea Burger and Seared Hearts of Palm Salad (Page 2)

The Beany Tahini Burger
Makes 4 burgers

Frickin’ chickpeas, man. They just do everything, don’t they? They’re the best. Chickpeas.

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cooked couscous
1 tablespoon tahini
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 roasted red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 buns of your choosing, halved
2 tablespoons Dreamy Tahini Dressing (see recipe, page 198)
1/2 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 beefsteak tomato, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

To make the burger patty, in a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, couscous, tahini, garlic, oregano, olives, salt, and pepper. With a fork, potato masher, or your very clean hands, mash all of it together until 90 percent of the chickpeas are mashed. Now that you have this pasty mass, gently fold in the roasted pepper (as it would have been destroyed during the initial mixing). Divide the chickpea mixture into four portions and form into 1/4-inch-thick patties.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add your burger patties to the pan, and cook them for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Slather each bun half with dreamy tahini dressing, and assemble the burgers from the bottom up in the following order: 1 bun half, cucumber, chickpea patty, lettuce, tomato, onion, and the other bun half.

Dreamy Tahini Dressing
Makes 1½ cups

Keep it as is for slathering on sandwiches and burgers, or thin it out with a little water for a creamy salad dressing.

1/2 cup tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 clove garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of smoked paprika
Salt and pepper

In a food processor or blender, combine the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, parsley, mint, oil, and paprika, and puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Image: Photo By Brian Patton