Chickpea Burgers with Ricotta Sauce

Here's a vegetarian option that's a great winter meal when you're hankering for a burger and it's too cold to fire up the grill.  We're not going to pretend like these burgers taste like beef burgers - or even turkey burgers, for that matter.  That's not the point.  These burgers taste pretty good, though.  They're not super filling, which can be a good thing, and you can dress them up with either your favorite burger toppings, or as detailed below, with some non-traditional toppings.

The sauce is a new one for us.  We feel it needs a bit more flavor, which could mean adding some parmesan cheese or some cilantro while it's in the blender.  We want to try this recipe again with a Greek taztziki sauce - something with a bit more tang, but not a whole lot more body.  We like the thickness and texture of the sauce, we just wanted more flavor.

We used regular panko - and yes, we actually used panko.  We felt it was worth trying the real panko the first time since the panko has a much different texture than just typical breadcrumbs.  Regular or italian breadcrumbs would work, if those are all you have on hand, or if you just prefer those to the harder-to-find and possibly more expensive panko.

2 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and drains
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons whole-wheat panko (japanese bread crumbs)
Cooking spray
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta
2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt
4 whole-wheat hamburger buns
cucumber, thinly sliced
red onion, thinly sliced
tomato, thinly sliced
spinach leaves, rinsed

Preheat the broiler to high.  In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, parsley, garlic, and spices; season with pepper.  Partially mash the chickpea mixture; stir in egg and 2 tablespoons panko and shape into 4 patties.

Spread remaining panko on a plate and dredge patties in it.  Place patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray (we placed foil under the burgers to make clean up easier).  Broil 8 to 10 inches from heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Be careful here not to put the burgers too close to the broiler burners.  If you have extra panko on your cookie sheet, expect it to burn - and don't be surprised if you smell something burning when you open the oven door.  Watch the burgers, especially at the very end since a broiler can burn food in a real hurry.

Puree ricotta an yogurt in a blender or food processor.  This is where we would suggest adding some parmesean or reggiano cheese to boost the flavor of this sauce.  Serve burgers on buns with cucumber, onion, tomato, spinach and ricotta sauce.  We actually used some toasted, homemade whole-wheat bread Sara had made a few days prior (that's a great, easy recipe we'll share in the future). 

A vegan version can be made by substituting tahini for the egg, and tofu cream cheese for the ricotta sauce.

We paired our burger with some applesauce and homemade french fries.  We'll cover the french fries another time.

The beer pairing is really up to your mood, but I think a subtle amber ale or lager, such as Hudy Amber or Yuengling Traditional Amber Lager, would be a pretty good match with this meal.  Let the burger and it's dressings be the focus and the beer just serve as background.

(recipe source: Shape Magazine)