Recipe | Mediterranean Chickpea Burgers with Stuffed, Oven-roasted Avocados

0

FOR THE BURGERS:

1 15oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 egg, beaten.
1 carrot, shredded
1 zuchinni, shredded
1/2 onion, chopped
2 gloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
1 roasted red pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese - save 1/4 cup for after you combine it in the food processor
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 cup flat leaf parsely, roughly chopped
the zest of one lemon
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp dried tarragon leaves
salt and pepper to taste
a couple tbsp extra virgin olive oil

(makes 8 burgers)

Add all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until everything is combined into a smooth-ish mixture. Transfer the mixture to a separate bowl and incorporate the reserved 1/4 cup feta cheese. Add more bread crumbs if the mixture feels too soggy. To make these vegan, just omit the cheese and use an egg substitute - like arrow root or a flax mixture (i don't know the exact measurements. just google it)

Set a large skillet or griddle to medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray or add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. Form the mixture into patties. Sear on both sides for about 3-5 minutes each. The burgers WILL be squishy and a little messy, this is OKAY! They won't fall apart, but they will be mushy.

FOR THE AVOCADOS:

4 ripe avocados, halved and de-pitted

1 cup button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 onion, chopped

1 soy sausage, diced

1/2 tomato, diced

some fresh mozzarella, diced

a couple tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 450°F. 

Scoop out the majority of the avocado's flesh from each half, mash up with salt and pepper, and set aside in a bowl.

Set a large skillet to medium heat and add some oil. Brown up the soy sausage pieces - about 3-5 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan, chop up into tiny pieces, and set aside.

Saute the onions in the left over oil for 3-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and some salt and pepper. Cook together for another 5-7 minutes, or until the onions get caramelized and the mushrooms soften up and brown a little bit. 

Combine the sausage pieces and the mushroom and onion mixture with the mashed avocado you set aside. 

Fill the avocado halves with the mixture... about 3 tbsp should fit into each. It really depends on the size of your avocados, though.

Stick in some pieces of the diced tomato and mozzarella in each avocado half. 

Bake at 450°F for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Read More »

Recipe | Chiocciole with Garden Veg Sauce

0

This makes approximately 3 servings, depending what you serve it with.

2 cups chiocciole
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 soy sausages, chopped into half moon shapes
1 1/2-2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
3 cups saute greens - mine had a mixture of baby kale, baby spinach, and baby swiss chard
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
a couple tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Set a large pot of water on high to boil. Set a large skillet on medium and add  some extra virgin olive oil. Brown the soy sausages on both sides. I found that leaving them in bigger pieces for the browing process is easier than cutting them up before hand because you're going to remove the pieces from the pan after they're browned. Whichever way you decide to brown them, they'll take about 3-4 minutes on each side to get nice and crispy

When the sausages are browned, remove them from the pan and saute the peppers and onions in the left over oil until they begin to soften and caramelize a little bit. Salt and pepper them after about 7 minutes of cooking.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Take two of your tomatoes, roughly chop them (seeds and all) and add that to the pan. Reserve the third tomato for later. Salt and pepper your sauce and add the crushed red pepper flakes. Your water should be boiling at this point so drop the pasta in. Lower the heat under your skillet to about medium low or close to simmer, cover, and cook for 6-7 minutes. Uncover the pan, add some starchy pasta water (about 1/4 cup) and continue to simmer until your pasta is done cooking.

Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Turn off the heat under your skillet. Add the saute greens (you may need to add them in batches, giving each batch a chance to wilt down so your pan doesn't overflow with greens), the reserved tomato, and the chopped soy sausages. Salt and pepper the dish if necessary.

I served this with a couple falafel balls, so it lasted me a couple meals. You could stretch it by adding more vegetables (like zucchini or eggplant or more peppers).

Read More »