Veggie Burgers

I have to say, I'm not a big fan of tofu, but it always feels like there aren't many non-meat alternatives.  But that's just wrong.  I found a recipe for black bean burgers a while ago and it opened my mind to all the different bean bases you can use in a veggie burger.  This burger is made with chickpeas, and it is great, burgery and tasty, and filling and guilt free on top of it.

It looks so fresh and yummy on the plate.  I serve this burger on a bed of baby spinach, with fresh farmers market tomato slices, caramelized onions. and a little garlic aioli.  I caramelized an onion in my cast iron pan on low for about an hour.  It comes out so sweet with just a bit of onion bite.

Chickpea Burgers

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 free range egg
1 tsp cumin seads
a small handful of fresh basil
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 zucchini
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste

 Add the chickpeas, egg, basil, nutritional yeast, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper to the bowl of a food processor.  Process until they form a soft dough.

 In a bowl, add the chickpea mixture to the shredded zucchini and sunflower seeds.  Form into patties.

 Fry patties in 1 tbsp olive oil until a nice crust forms on both sides, finish the burgers in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Enjoy!