Gemma's Veggie Burgers

Gemma's Veggie Burgers

(trust me, you will love these)

Ingredients
300g dried chickpeas
1 carrot
1 courgette (Zucchini)
1 onion
5-10 cloves of garlic (depending on how much you like it)
1 Aubergine (or egg plant to Americans)
1 green pepper
2 large oyster mushrooms
6 potatoes boiled
bread crumbs
3 table spoons of cumin
2 table spoons of ground coriander (cilantro)
1 tea spoon of paprika
1 tea spoon of garam masala
1 tea spoon of celery salt
1 tea spoon of black pepper.

Directions
Soak your chickpeas (if using the dry ones) over night then cook them for 1 1/2 – 2 hours in the rice cooker. I have found that cooking the chick peas in the rice cooker saves a lot of time and worry as you dont need to keep topping up the water. Meanwhile grate your carrot and courgette and chop the onion, garlic, aubergine, mushrooms and peppers as finely as possible then mix togther in a bowl with the herbs and spices and a splash of oil. I then roasted this mixture in the oven for around 20 – 30 minutes in the oven until the vegetables are golden brown and soft but you could just as easily do this in a frying pan if you’re sans oven. You can use any kind of herbs and spices you like in this recipe, I went for cumin and coriander because I have a big tub of each but anything would work really. If you like your food hot you can add chili pepper or fresh chilis. Its really just about giving some flavor to the chick peas which are rather bland on their own. (You can also vary the vegetables, sweetcorn, sweet potato, mixed peppers or tomatoes would all work too) When your chick peas are cooked (they should break apart easily with tthe back of a fork) you need to mash them in a bowl, if you have a blender or food processor then that will save you a lot of time if not use a bit of elbow grease. Once the vegetables are cooked mix them in a bowl with the boiled potatoes (you should mash them first) then add to the chick pea and stir together. Pick up the mixture with your hands and form into to burger shapes, if the mixture if too dry you could add some oil or egg or even a little bit of peanut butter ( it really adds a nice flavor) if its too wet stir in some bread crumbs. When the burgers are shaped roll them in bread crumbs and cook either in the oven or frying pan with a little oil. If you made far too many like I did cover them individually in cling film and put them in the freezer so they’re available whenever you need a quick dinner or if a vegetarian friend unexpectedly pops round. Since I made so many I have been taking them to work to eat with salad for a delicious and healthy lunch, although in a bun covered in onion jam is a great way to go.