Chickpea Cutlets – Oh, my Gawd.

I love these! I have never used wheat gluten before. so I have never seen how stringy and elastic it gets. Fun stuff. These are yummy. They are based on a recipe from the Queen of Vegan herself – Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I used the one in her cookebook, Veganomicon, but she has modified it on her website, Post Punk Kitchen. Take her advice – double the recipe! (The website does). They taste SO good! Even my husband – an avowed carnivore – loves these.

Ingredients:
1 C cooked organic chickpeas (I used mine from a tin, drained and weighed)
1/2C wheat gluten ( I got mine from Vitacost)
1/2 C breadcrumbs (Isa suggests packet rather than fresh. I made a mistake and used ‘Mary’s Gone Crackers’ crumb which are everything but bread – flax, rice, etc. It still worked great)
2 garlic cloves
2Tbs olive oil
1/4 C vegetable stock or water (I ended up using a little more)
2 Tbs Braggs Liquid Aminos
1/2 Tsp dried thyme
1/2 Tsp dried sage
1/2 Tsp paprika

Olive oil for frying

Optional: 1/2 Tsp lemon zest (I didn’t do this)

Press the garlic into a food processor. Add the chickpeas. Pulse until mashed, but don’t make hummus!

Tip contents into a  bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients, then fold in the wet ingredients. Knead for about three minutes until you see the strings of wheat gluten forming.

Divide mixture into four equal balls. Roll, then flatten into cutlets.

Heat up a little oil in your frying pan. Not too much oil. When it is hot, add the cutlets. Cook until golden on each sides. You may need to add a little more oil when you flip them.

NB: Apparently you can also bake these. Brush each side of patty with oil, lay on a baking tray and cook for 20 minutes at 375F (191C). Flip patties, then bake for another 8-10 minutes until golden brown. If you bake them, let me know how it goes in the comments below!

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