Jerk chickpea burgers
The other day, someone asked me, “When are you going to do a veggie burger recipe?” As it happens, I had just perfected this baby: the jerk chickpea burger.
Veggie burgers can be a snore, but these got rave reviews at my recent backyard cookout. When developing this recipe, I was aiming for something super flavorful, and I think I hit that nail on the head. It does take a little while to grate/chop the vegetables, but if you have all the ingredients at hand, the burgers come together pretty easily. And they’re so worth it – the jerk sauce adds a Caribbean twist, while beets and tamari almonds take this burger to another level altogether.
I’m sure the choice of jerk sauce makes a difference in these burgers so choose carefully. I picked some Miss Lilly’s brand at Whole Foods and really like it, although the spicy variety is really spicy, so watch out!
2 cans chickpeas, well drained Place the chickpeas, jerk sauce and flax-lime mixture in a food processor and process to a rough paste (can be slightly chunky). In a bowl combine the chickpea mixture with the remaining ingredients, stirring well mixed. Refrigerate until read to use. Form into patties and grill on a well-oiled grate or vegetable tray. Alternatively, sauté in a skillet or brush with oil and bake at 375 for 10 minutes per side. Serve on buns with additional jerk sauce, lettuce and sliced red onions. Makes 8 burgers
¼ cup Jamaican jerk sauce
1 tablespoon ground flax seed whisked with 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 medium cooked beets, grated on the large holes of a box grater and squeezed dry (about ½ cup)
½ medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
1 medium carrot, grated on the large holes of a box grater (about ½ cup)
1 fresh jalapeño pepper, finely minced
1/3 c. medium-coarse bulgur, cooked according to directions and well drained
1/2 c. whole wheat panko bread crumbs
¼ cup tamari almonds, well chopped (I pulsed in food processor)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste
Generous amount of freshly ground black pepper
Whole wheat buns, red onions and romaine lettuce, for serving
Did you grind the flax seeds? Or get them already ground? This sounds awesome
I used ground flax (aka flax meal). You can get it anywhere. Let me know if you try the recipe, Janet!
Hey, finally writing about this. Here in California, at least in San Francisco, the only jerk sauce that seems to be available is Busha Browne’s. I didn’t look everywhere, but that was my experience.
The first time I made it it came out a little dry, and that was without the panko. I ended up adding an egg. Also I used golden beets and the color was very different the 2nd time when I used red ones. It looked exactly like ground beef! I don’t see a way to add a photo but I do have one.
Both times the taste and the smell were intriguing and earthy. Second time was for book club, someone brought stupid puffy buns which I stupidly didn’t toast and they overwhelmed the patties a bit. Everyone liked them though.
Thanks!
Tried the recipe today and it was really good. I used chickpea flour instead of bulgur and a little extra flax egg. I coated the patties in flour then browned them on both sides in a pan then baked them covered in foil. They were firm but moist and quite flavorful. I used mild Walkers Woods jerk seasoning which I find to be pretty spicy and omitted the jalapeno. I’ll be making this again.
A chickpea burgers sounds so interesting. Thank you for sharing the nice recipe.