Garbanzo Burgers

When it's been a while since we've done a grocery shopping trip, we begin to get creative with our cooking--inventing new recipes that are concocted with whatever we have in the fridge and on our shelves.

Last night, I put two cups of dried garbanzo beans in a bowl to soak overnight. This afternoon, I cooked them up still not knowing exactly what I would use them for. After they were cooked, I decided to make up some "Garbanzo burgers". They are a lot like falafel, but different because the garbanzos (chickpeas) are pre-cooked, and you do not need a lot of oil to deep-fry like you do with falafel.

These burgers were yummy! We ate them as if they were hamburgers, but next time we might eat them like falafel (with hummus, etc.)

Here's the recipe, if you would like to try it for yourself:

Garbanzo Burgers
(Makes 6)

Main burger ingredients:
1 cup dried garbanzos (chickpeas), soaked overnight and cooked (see below for how I cook them) and mashed
1 egg
1 piece of bread, crumbled
2 tablespoons flour
3 shallots, finely chopped (onion would be great, too)
3 garlic cloves, mashed

Seasonings: (feel free to experiment, and let me know if you come up with something you like!)
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley
a few shakes of Salt & Pepper

Making the burgers:
Start by cooking the garbanzos as follows:
Soak 1 cup dried garbanzos overnight. Cook them in water that has a little baking soda sprinkled in it. As the beans cook, skim off the foam and bean skins that float to the top. Change the water once during cooking. Cook until the garbanzos are soft (takes about 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours). Drain the cooked beans and mash them well (I use a pastry blender).

To the mashed garbanzos, add all the other ingredients and mix well. Form six balls and smoosh them into burger patties. Heat up a little olive oil in a frying pan/skillet until it is hot. Fry the burgers on one side until light brown, then flip to cook on the other side. Enjoy!