Chickpea Burger

I recently became obsessed with Pinterest, where I have pinned over 200 gluten/sugar/dairy free recipes that I've collected!  I noticed a lot of recipes with chickpeas, including a chickpea "tuna salad," and I was reminded of a recipe in Heidi Swanson's "Super Natural Cooking" cook book for a chickpea burger that becomes the bun!  I thought this was a brilliant idea since veggie burgers can be very starchy and when placed between two pieces of gluten free bread, it's a little heavy on carbs.  Not just because it's less healthy, but because the taste experience is less exciting; it's nice to have a variety of textures and flavors in a bite.  I altered her recipe to be completely gluten free and added some sesame seeds to make it pretty (and healthy!)  I used sprouted chickpeas (*directions on sprouting at the bottom), but you can also use canned ones.  Please fill your burger with any ingredients you like: kale, mushrooms, avocado, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, etc.

Ingredients:  

• 2 cups of chickpeas (sprouted or canned)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 cup of gluten free bread crumbs or processed gluten free oats
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of pepper
• the zest of one lemon
• 4 large eggs (or substitute with 4 tbs of ground flax seed mixed with 8 tbs of water)
• a few tablespoons of sesame seeds
• 1 avocado, 1 tomato, a bunch of mushrooms, mixed greens, some marinated tofu (or whatever veggies you want to put in between the buns!)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. If using sprouted chickpeas, steam them for a few minutes until soft.  If using canned chickpeas, just rinse and drain them well.
3. In a food processor blend the chickpeas 'till they are thick and mushy.  Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Mix in the shredded carrots and chopped onions, bread crumbs/oats, salt, pepper, zest and eggs.
5. Form dough into patties. 
6. Lay sesame seeds into a shallow bowl and dip each pattie into the seeds to coat the top.
7. Bake patties in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.
8. While they are baking, saute the mushrooms; slice the tomato, tofu, and avocado; and wash the salad greens.
9. When chickpea patties are ready, let them cool, and then slice them in half to make two sides of the "bun."
10. Slap on some mayo or hummus, add your fixings and enjoy!

*How to sprout chickpeas:

1. Soak chickpeas in a bowl of clean water for 8 hours or more.  
2. Drain chickpeas and place them in a colander overnight.
3. Rinse the chickpeas a few times and return them to the colander.
4. Repeat for another day or two until you see sprouts coming out of the chickpeas!