Open-Faced Chickpea Tomato Basil Burgers

I’m a firm believer that you can never have too many veggie burger recipes. While I’m still calling this a ‘veggie’ burger, it’s mainly made from chickpeas. Smashed chickpeas seasoned with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, onions, and spices. I served these open-faced with a homemade basil mayo spread, juicy tomatoes, and arugula. The sauce makes the burger! Don’t be tempted to use just ketchup, it’s worth the extra effort to make the basil spread.

I usually love veggie burgers because of the rainbow of colors. These burgers are quite different; they remind me more of a turkey burger. It’s a great way to convince your carnivore loving friends that they need to try these burgers!

These veggie burgers are stiffer and actually stay together instead of crumbling. Sometimes, I’m nervous about flipping veggie burgers but I had no problem with these. The beans and a little bit of tahini create the perfect bind. I cooked mine in the oven (it seems faster and less messy than cooking them on the stove-top) but they stayed together so well, next time I might try grilling them. Since they stay together so well, if you cook them too long (especially in the oven) they might be a little dry. Nothing some good basil mayo can’t fix, but it’s just something to watch out for.

Even though I made these into patties, I bet they would be delicious as veggie meatballs! They have all the perfect flavors to compliment a good Italian pasta sauce with noodles.

You can use dry or canned beans for this recipe. I would love to tell you I planned ahead and used dry beans, but that’s far from the truth. Although I do have a lot of dried black and pinto beans in my pantry. I know everyone says the texture is better with dried beans, but be your own judge, I don’t think the difference is life changing. Though these burgers might be life changing…

Open-Faced Chickpea Tomato Basil Burgers

From north coast eats at https://northcoasteats.com/chickpea-tomato-basil-burgers/

https://northcoasteats.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ct.burger.ig-0032.jpg

Yield: makes about 10 patties.

Chickpea patties filled with basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and spices. Complete with basil mayo, tomatoes, and arugula.

You'll Need...

Burgers:
1 cup basil
1/2 cup onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 cup chickpeas, drained
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
salt & pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons tahini
Basil Mayo:
1/4 cup basil, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons mayo
Toppings:
2 large tomatoes, sliced
10 pieces multi-grain bread
2 1/2 cups arugula

Directions

Make the burgers: In a food processor, pulse basil, onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes. Pulse HALF the chickpeas, cumin, turmeric, salt/pepper, tahini. Add the rest of the chickpeas and lightly pulse until fully incorporated.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shape burger dough into 10 patties. (Depending on desired size, you might make more or less.)
On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, place patties. Bake 7 minutes, flip, bake 3 to 8 more minutes. Let cool slightly.
Make the Basil Mayo: mix all ingredients in a bowl or food processor.
Assemble the burgers: Use one piece of bread for each patty. Top each with 1/4 cup arugula, the patty, 1 tablespoon basil mayo, and a tomato slice.