Chickpea (Garbanzo Bean) and Spinach Patties- Burgers (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

This chickpea-spinach patty or burger recipe grew from some consternation with a commercial brand of chickpea-spinach burger that had more than a few ingredients, a few of which I felt could be excluded from a recipe and still have the same flavourful and 'kind' appeal without those ingredients.

 Plus, as an ethical vegan, I was not crazy about the idea that the particular brand is just a side line for a longtime "meat packing company."  While I think it is wonderful that there are an amazing number of vegan "meats" hitting the market, I don't think that I am reduced to buying a product that is likely just a way for this company to capture some of the 'new' revenue coming in with vegan foods, while they continue to support the factory-farming of animals, their "inhumane" slaughter  (is there a humane way to kill a sentient being to eat?) and the ongoing other ethical and morale concerns perpetrated by the meat industries.

So, yeah, this recipe was developed.  There are quite a few other vegan chickpea burger recipes online that you might want to google.  Some modified versions of them will likely turn up on here in the near-ish future since I plan to do a series of recipes that are (not exactly) copy-cats of some of the commercial burgers to show that these recipes can be put together without the kinds of ingredients that are often just meant to preserve shelf-life or be more like the solid-bulky texture you got used to with a hamburger, for example.

This recipe uses fabulous aquafaba (or a gel produced from chickpea "juice") as the "eggs" that appear as binders in the non-vegan burger recipes.  I was originally set to use the usual "flaxseed egg" (2 Tbsp. Flaxseeds plus 1/4 cup water) but noticed the chunky gel that I had poured off my home-cooked chickpeas as it sat in the fridge in a mason jar.  I subbed a 1/4 cup of it (picture below) for the flaxseed egg.  And it worked well!  I would suggest that you use the flaxseed gel if you feel less comfortable with using aquafaba.

Here is a close-up of the Aquafaba magic gel.... the thick liquid that came from cooking my chickpeas in the Instant Pot

 The original recipe I was most attracted to had 18 ingredients.  At the time I was "developing" this recipe (or "throwing it together" might be a less pretentious description), my husband and I were quite hungry, having gone past our usual suppertime schedule.  So, while I knew that it might be minimally tastier if I searched for and measured out a bunch of individual spices (cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, ground ginger, etc.) it would work just as well for our not very discerning taste buds if we just used a really good variety of organic Mild Curry Powder that involves all the of the above spices, and then some.  If you have experience with dealing with spices, or have a favourite formula that you love, by all means, use that in this recipe!

I also did a short cut on the 2 Tbsp. of Lemon Juice and the 1 Tbsp. of Garlic Puree because I use a combo frozen cube of Lemon Juice-Garlic every day in our smoothie (yes, it IS potent).  I just tossed a cube of that in-- easy peasy.  I include that in the recipe in case you want to go ahead and try making those cubes yourself, the recipe is HERE.  It really comes in handy for a lot of recipes (as well as for our smoothie, of course heheh).

So, here is a photo of the reduced number of ingredients:

INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN CHICKPEA AND SPINACH PATTIES/BURGERS:

• 2 Tbsp. Flaxseeds plus 1/4 cup Water OR 1/4 cup thick Aquafaba (Chickpea juice gel)
• 1 medium Onion
• 1/2 Bell Pepper (red, yellow or orange-- green are unripe peppers)
• 1 tsp. Oil
• 1 tsp. Mild Curry Powder
• 1 tsp. Red Chili Powder (I used Chipotle)
• 1 Tbsp. Garlic Puree and 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice or 1 Garlic-Lemon cube
• 1 Tbsp. Tomato Puree/paste
• 14-oz/114 ml can Chickpeas (save the 'juice') OR 1 1/2 - 2 cups of cooked Chickpeas
• 1 cup Baby Spinach
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup Chickpea Flour

DIRECTIONS:

1. If making a Flaxseed egg, combine the seeds and water in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Finely slice the onion, and chop the pepper into small cubes.  
3. Stir-fry the Onion in the Oil over high heat, stirring continuously  Add in the Curry Powder. Stir for 3-5 minutes until golden.
4. Add in Bell Pepper, Chili, Garlic Puree, Lemon Juice (or cube), and Tomato Puree/Paste.  Stir another 3-5 minutes until soft.
5. Set aside to cool (briefly)
6. When cool, add the mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until a smooth paste.
7. To the food processor, add in the Chickpeas, Spinach, Flax egg or Aquafaba gel,  and a pinch of Salt.
8. Process until mostly smooth, although a rougher texture of Chickpeas is great.  If you think it is too smooth, mash up some more chickpeas and add them in without further processing.
9. Dump this mixture into a medium-large bowl and mix in the cup of Chickpea Flour.
10. Stir until it is evenly mixed in.
11. You can either divide the mass into six equal lumps and fry with in a pan with some oil, or you can turn the oven to 400F, cover a pan with parchment paper, and spoon six burger shapes onto the pan.  Bake for about 15 minutes on each side, more if you are not happy with the texture.
12. These patties (baked in the oven) resemble pancakes, but are savory and have a very nice texture that is not like a cookie or a pancake...

Here are some other recipes you might also like to try:

How to make ChiaSeed Gel and How To Use It

How to Make Yummy No-Meat Balls (Gluten Free)

Barley Pecan Burger

Mushroom Walnut Burger

Vegetable Burger

The Classic Vegan Roast or Burger

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