Chickpea Cutlets, and Chickpea Patties, and Chickpea...

Two new cookbooks recently showed up on my doorstep. Eat, Drink And Be Vegan, and Veganomicon. I haven't done much cooking from them yet, but have spent a lot of time with them just reading, and I really like them both.

The first thing I had to try was the Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon. I've read a hundred places online about how good they are, and wanted to see what all the hubbub was about. I've also never cooked with vital wheat gluten before, so I was curious. I opted to bake rather than fry. I really liked them, but wouldn't make them quite as thin again, because it was hard to find the right spot between done and burnt. I would also double the recipe, because it seems crazy to only make 4 cutlets. I would have gladly warmed these up for lunch the next day.


I made the 'Red Wine Roux', also from V-con, to go with. It was tasty, but I wasn't thrilled with the way it looked...sort of a grayish purple hue. If I make it again I would use a wine that doesn't have such a deep purple color. The sauce was also good on roasted carrots, turnips, and parsnips with a little olive oil, sea salt, and some parsley tossed in. For anyone averse to or inexperienced with turnips and parsnips, roasting is the way to go. Both, by themselves, are a bit too much of a good thing for me, so I like to mix them with other vegetables.

I had some chickpeas left from this recipe, so I decided to try them once again in patty form. First I sauteed some green pepper and shallot. Then I mashed the chickpeas (about a cup) and added a few tablespoons flax meal, some bread crumbs, thyme, chopped scallions, sea salt, garlic, a bit of spelt flour, and some oil. I mixed in the green pepper and shallot, and added just enough water to bind everything. I made small patties and cooked them in my nonstick skillet with just a little olive oil. I was unsure how these would turn out, but they were fine. I loved them.


We had them with the leftover Red Wine Roux, some quinoa (a delicious grain that just happens to be a complete protein) , and more roasted veggies. This time it was turnip, potato, carrot, onions and garlic with olive oil, sea salt and chives.


I have noticed that there is a recipe in Eat, Drink And Be Vegan for 'Chickpea Sensation Patties', so it looks like there are more chickpea patties in my future!

Chickpea and potato quickie

I didn't get a chance to think about dinner till we were starving, so I threw together what I had in the freezer and the cupboard. I peeled and chopped a potato and steamed it in the microwave. While the potato was cooking I sauteed some onion and garlic, and then added some turmeric, cumin, and thyme.


I cooked a pot of chickpeas a couple of weeks ago, and froze the leftovers. I'm always glad for extra chickpeas. So those went in the pan. By then the potato was about tender so I added it along with some fresh tomato and some canned crushed tomato that I also had leftover in the fridge from making tomato sauce for the pizza. I am trying harder not to waste things. Whenever I realize I have let yet another turnip rot, or a piece of tofu go all slimy, I get angry and say words that will get you an R rating. There is almost nothing worse than wasted food...wasted money, wasted nutrients, starving children, etc...where was I? Oh yeah, dinner.

Frozen Chickpea Brick

Anyway, all that went in there with Braggs and hot sauce and frozen peas. I covered it and let the chickpeas and green peas heat up. A little salt and that was dinner!