Chickpea Cutlet - Review

[luvnit]

[image]

Chickpea Cutlets

Total: 30 mins
Active: 30 mins
Makes: 4 cutlets

Veganomicon
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

We try not to play favorites, but this is one of our babies and a recipe we are sure will take over food blogs worldwide. A combination of chickpeas and vital wheat gluten formed into savory cutlets, it’s perfect for when you want something “meaty” but don’t want to go through the trouble of making seitan. We serve these cutlets in a myriad of ways, packed into sandwiches or smothered in mustard sauce, with a side of mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. It’s vegan food that you can eat with a steak knife and, best of all, it’s fast and easy. You’ll probably want to double the recipe if you are serving it to guests.

Game plan: Just in case you were wondering, you can also bake these too! Baking these patties gives them a toothsome chewy texture and firm bite. Preheat oven to 375°F, and lightly oil baking sheet. Brush both sides of each patty with olive oil, place on baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes. Flip patties and bake another 8 to 10 minutes until firm and golden brown.

What to buy: Vital wheat gluten is the naturally occurring protein in wheat that makes it all happen; it’s what gives wheat dough its characteristic stretch and makes seitan (sometimes called wheat meat) so toothsome. Look for organic brands at your health food store, usually in the baking section. We recommend Arrowhead Mills brand above others if you have a choice.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated with a Microplane grater
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
Olive oil for pan frying

INSTRUCTIONS
In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the oil until no chickpeas are left. Add the remaining ingredients and knead together for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed.
Preheat a large heavy-bottomed nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, divide the cutlet dough into 4 equal pieces. To form cutlets, knead each piece in your hand for a few moments and then flatten and stretch each one into a roughly 6 by 4 inch rectangular cutlet shape. The easiest way to do this is to form a rectangle shape in your hands and then place the cutlets on a clean surface to flatten and stretch them.
Add a moderately thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minutes. Add more oil, if needed, when you flip the cutlets. They’re ready when lightly browned and firm to the touch.

Laura's Review:
Degree of difficulty: Easy


I began preparing these and quickly realized that my canned chickpeas were too hard to mash with a fork. I ended up pulsing them in my mini food processor. I didn't turn it into hummus, I just pulsed in until there were no whole chickpeas visible. I added the rest of the ingredients and kneaded it until the strings formed. I was looking for long melted mozzarella type strings, but there were much smaller than the image in my head. More like small gluteny-dough threads. Anyway I found that rolling them with a rolling pin really did the trick. That worked great.

After frying them in a pan, I tasted them. Crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. I served them to my son with lemon juice on them and he wanted tarter sauce. He thought they were fish. These are very versitile and could take on the flavor of anything you add to it. I can imagine them with a mushroom sauce, dijon sauce, marinara for a 'chicken' parmesan substitute.

My mistake: I didn't have plain bread crumbs, so I used the 'seasoned' variety. I think that may have added too much salt to the recipe. I would definitely used plain next time.

These are so easy and take only minutes to make. The recipe says 30 minutes, I say 15 start to finish! These would be great to have at the Thanksgiving table for any vegetarian or vegan as a substitute for turkey.


On the other hand: I found this the other day and want to try it. It looks great!



Morrocan Chickpea Patties

Here is how the patties are made:

How to make Morrocan Chickpea Patties...

[firechef]

Garbonzo Beans sure are popular around here of late...did I miss something about their popularity or something???

[luvnit]

Hello LJ! Hope you are doing well. By 'around here' do you mean the forum? or Iowa?

If you mean the forum, Jean brought up chickpeas. She can be quite an instigator ya know.

[firechef]

Jean, an instigator??? Never

[cjs]

...and ain't it fun???

These both look great, Laura. I didn't have time before we left to make any of them yet. If we run into a health food store in town, I just may get these made on the road.

hmmm, the addition of red bell and fennel(which I happen to a half in the fridge) sounds tasty!