I always see the veggie burger options in the fridges and freezers of the supermarkets, and never buy them because I always tell myself I could make them myself. The truth is, most of the time I never actually do get round to making them. However, this recipe caught my eye a while ago, and I decided I wanted to try it out.

There’s something about a great burger that really hits the spot, when all the flavours combine perfectly to make each bite epic. The bun has to be right, the fillings have to be right… everything has to go together. Because sometimes you get a burger, and just one thing isn’t quite right about it and that ruins the whole meal.

These burgers go well with something creamy and something crunchy. Red cabbage, or coleslaw would go great as a topping with the chickpea burger. They taste great without the additional crunch, but that crunch just adds more depth to the whole bite. Another great addition is a spicy aioli, using sriracha and mayo.

Depending how spicy you like things, you can add more chili to the burger mixture, and the seeds. I removed most of the seeds from the large green chili that I used, but I could have used more.

My food processor has been getting a great workout from the recipes I have been making recently. It has made life so easy with regards to mixing, blending, kneading and chopping. If only it was self-cleaning as well! The trick with these burgers though is to make sure that you don’t over-blend the oats and chickpeas, as you don’t want them to turn into a paste. The texture of the chopped oats and chickpeas adds to the beauty of the burger and makes them easier to form into patties.

Unfortunately, these burgers are nearly impossible to make without a food processor, simply because the oats and chickpeas wouldn’t be chopped and combined well enough by hand. Sorry guys!

I also ended up making homemade burger buns to enjoy the patties with, because I couldn’t find decent burger rolls that I felt would complement the chickpea burgers. It just made more sense to make my own – I had all the ingredients for them – although I won’t be posting the recipe up here as I literally just googled “burger bun recipe” and found the easiest one. They were all different sizes, so weren’t that pretty to take photos of either. But, they worked great with the chickpea burger patties.

The patties do need a bit of chilling time, at least 30 minutes, in the fridge to firm up – making them easier to cook and keep their shape, but they’ll be fine in the fridge (in an airtight container) for a week.

Now… get cooking!

Ingredients

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup rolled oats
1 zucchini, grated and squeezed of moisture
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
1 large green chili, deseeded and finely chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg (or flax/chia egg for vegan alternative)

For the sriracha aioli:
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or vegan alternative)
2 tablespoons sriracha
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Mix together all of the ingredients for the aioli, cover and set aside.
2. In a frying pan, drizzle some oil in the pan and cook the onion, chili, zucchini and green pepper for 5 – 8 minutes, until the pepper has softened.
3. Pulse the chickpeas and oats in the food processor until combined, but still slightly chopped (not mushy).
4. In a large bowl, combine the veggies and the chickpea mixture. Add the egg and spices and season with salt and pepper. Combine everything together until well mixed.
5. Separate into 4 equal sized pieces and make patties with your hands. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
6. When ready, get a pan over a medium flame. Add oil to the pan and get the pan really hot. Place the burger patties (no more than two at a time, to make for easier flipping) into the pan and allow to brown up for a few minutes on each side.
7. Place in your choice of burger bun (or lettuce leaf) and drizzle with the sriracha aioli.
8. For extra crunch, add coleslaw or red cabbage to the burger as well.