Recipe #110 Lentil Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 can of green lentils
• 115gr dry chickpeas
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 red chilli (optional)
• 5 tablespoons of plain flour
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

Extra flour to dust your hands and either olive oil or sunflower oil to fry the burgers.

For a healthier version see below.

You'll need a food processor for this.

Start by placing the chickpeas in water for about 1-2h. Get a food processor and with the chopping blade chop the onion, the garlic cloves and the chilli. Now add chickpeas (drained) and the lentils (rinse well so they are loose). Blend again for about 1 minute.
Now add the lemon juice, olive oil, flour, cumin, salt and pepper. Blend until this forms a paste (around 2 minutes should be enough).

Flour your hands and with about 2 tablespoons of the burger mix shape this into a burger patty. 

1) For a healthier version of this recipe you can shape the burgers and place them on baking paper on an oven proof tray. You can bake them for around 20-25min on 180oC.

or you can fry them, just like meat burgers.
2) In a frying pan heat some oil and carefully place the burger shaped patty into the pan. With a skimmer carefully turn them so they fry on both sides. Around 4 minutes on each side should be enough to cook the burger and give it a golden colour.

The amount in this recipe makes 5 big burgers. Estimated cost for 5 burgers = under 40 cents (€) per burger.

Recipe #64 Falafel Burger (no frying needed)

Similar to recipe #22 -  Falafel

Shopping list

• 100gr of dry chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of dry parlsey
• cayenne pepper

Method

Place the dry chickpeas in water for 4-8 hours. Rinse well and drain the water. Place them in a food processor with all the other ingredients. Chop in the food processor till it is a nice thick paste. Place in the fridge for about 1h. 
Put some flour onto your hands and make little patties of the mixture. It should be enough for about 3-4 patties. 
Cover an oven proof tray with some baking paper and place the patties onto it. Let them cook for 30 min on 220 oC. Turn them after 15-20min.
They will be cooked and crunchy on the outside.

I served with homemade hummus

Recipe #60: Black Bean Burger

Similar to recipe #22 -  Falafel

Shopping list

• 100gr of soaked chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4-5 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 can black beans
• 2 cloves of garlic
• cayenne pepper
• sunflower oil (2 -4 tablespoons)

Method

Place the dry chickpeas, half the can of beans (drained), the olive oil, the lemon juice, the seasoning, the onion, the garlic cloves and half of the flour into a food processor. Chop until it's a smooth (grey) paste. Now add the remaining beans and flour.
Place this paste into the fridge for some hours so it doesn't fall apart when you try to mould it into burgers.
Sprinkle some flour onto a dish and spoon some of the bean paste into the shape of a burger - I used a cookie cutter to help. Sprinkle the top with flour again (or flour and sesame seeds).
In a pan heat some sunflower oil and fry slightly the burger on both sides (1-2 minutes per side should be enough).

Serve inside a burger bun, with salad (picture), fries... whatever you like. 

Recipe #47 Tofu omelette [vegan]

Shopping list (2 portions)

1 block of tofu

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup of chickpea flour

2 tablespoons of olive oil

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of nutricional yeast

1 teaspoon of turmeric

You'll need a food processor

Method 

In a food processor chop the tofu with the garlic clove and the onion till it's a smooth paste. Add the chickpea flour, olive oil, salt, pepper, turmeric and nutricional yeast.

(you can buy the chickpea flour or use dry chickpeas in a strong mini chopper till they are dust)
Chop this till it's a smooth paste. In a large skillet heat some olive oil or sunflower oil (about 1-2 tablespoons) and place the 'omelet' paste in. Let it fry and carefully turn it around with the help of a dish. You can serve this with roasted vegetables or salad.

Recipe #45 Fettuccine and aubergine [vegan]

Shopping list (2 portions)

200 gr dry Fettuccine

1 onion

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 garlic clove

1 aubergine

1 can of chickpeas

salt & pepper

dry oregano & 1/2 teaspoon of chili flakes

2 tablespoons of olive oil

You'll need a food processor

Method 

Cut the aubergine in half and place it on a oven proof dish. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Let it roast in the oven for 30min on 200o C.

Cook the pasta al dente. (because it will go back into the pan). Drain the water (keep 1/2 cup of this water and cover the pasta with this water. This will prevent the pasta from sticking until you need it)

Heat a little bit of olive oil in a sauce pan, place the chopped onion and garlic clove and let it get golden. Add the tomatoes (i chop them into smaller chunks in the food processor so it's like a runny passata). Season and add the oregano (be generous) and add the chili in (if you like it spicy you can add more or sprinkle in cayenne pepper). Throw in the chickpeas and aubergine (diced). Let it thicken a bit and then mix the pasta in. You can turn off the heat after 1-2 minutes. Done ! (you can serve with grated parmesan if you eat dairy)

Recipe #42 Lime and Mint Hummus [vegan]

Shopping list 

1/2 can chickpeas

Juice of 1 lime

1 garlic clove

Fresh mint (about 15 big leaves)

1 onion

2 tablespoons of canned chickpeas' liquid

salt & pepper

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of sesame seeds

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon of dark tahini

You'll need a food processor or chopper

Method 

Place the ingredients (except the lemon juice) in a food processor and blend several minutes until it's soft. You can add more olive oil and/ or chickpea's liquid if you like it more fluid.
Before serving I add the lemon juice and give it a stir. You can serve decorated with mint leaves 

Hummus on a falafel burger 

Recipe #22 Homemade falafel

I inspired myself on Tory's recipe, look this up here 

Shopping list

• 1 cup of dry chickpeas
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• turmeric
• fresh coriander
• ground cumin
• flour
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• cayenne pepper
• sunflower oil (about 1 litre)

Method

Place the dry chickpeas in a big bowl and cover it with 2 cups -3 cups of water. Let them soak overnight. Drain the water and rinse them. Place them in a chopper or a food processor. Add the onion and the cloves of garlic. Add a big handful of fresh coriander, a pinch of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Add 3 teaspoons of cumin, turmeric and add the lemon juice. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 5 of flour. Mix it on medium speed for about a minute. It should make a paste like misture, you should see some granules and it should not be runny. If needed add more olive oil or flour depending on the result of the misture.
Place your falafel mix in the fridge for at least 1h or 2h.
Then add the sunflower oil into a saucepan or a fryer. Heat it and when hot reduce the temperature to medium. Make little balls of around 1 tablespoon of the mix with your hands and fry it for some minutes. You want them golden brown but not dark brown burned ! :)
Take them out with a slotted spoon and let them cool on some kitchen paper towels. 
Serve with salad, pita bread or rice.
And dip them into fresh hummus !

yummmm !

Recipe #3 Vegetable Couscous (vegan)

Shopping list

• 1 cup of dry couscous
• 1 + 1/2 cups of hot vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric, dry parsley
• salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• A mix of roasted vegetables (such as asparagus, zucchini,  carrots)

Method 

For this recipe I used asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, chickpeas and peas, but it works with any vegetable you have at home.
I roasted the asparagus and zucchini and set this aside.
Then in my wok I heated some olive oil and added 1 chickpea can, 1 can of peas and some mushrooms diced in 4. I set this aside.
In a big bowl I added the couscous with some turmeric and parsley. I poured over this the hot vegetable stock and stired a bit, not too much as you dont want to loose the steam. Cover this as soon as you can with a cloth and let it rest for around 5-10min. When this is done you will have nice cooked couscous as a base for your vegetables.
Serve the couscous in a deep dish (add some spoons of vegetable stock if you don't like it very dry), then add some of the chickpeas and peas and mushrooms. And then add the roasted asparagus and diced zucchini half-es.