Buffalo Chickpea Burgers

Over the years, we've had some pretty "blah" veggie burgers. Meaning, I've made some pretty "blah" veggie burgers. Somewhere along the line, though, I figured out what I was doing wrong, and it was so simple, it almost hurt to discover. Seasoning! 

Um, yeah.

Beans and grains are amazing. They are a massive portion of our diet; but they need some help. Garlic, cayenne, onion and pink Himalayan salt are combined with the ever-popular buffalo sauce to take chickpeas and quinoa somewhere even they never thought they could go. 

If your life is anything like mine, you get the kids home from school, and the rest is a blur until dinner time. I don't ever seem to know where those two hours go. They're filled with after school snacks, homework, cleaning rooms, wrestling matches, sorting through the day's school papers, etc....

It gets a little chaotic.

Veggie patties can be made ahead of time and will patiently wait in the fridge until you're ready to cook them. Just stick them in the oven with some sliced potatoes 30 minutes before you want to eat, and somewhere in the middle of the third wrestling match and the second pile of school work, the oven timer will give you a much welcome reprieve from the late afternoon chaos. 

I guarantee you're going to love these buffalo burgers. 

Buffalo Chickpea Burgers with Spicy Aoili 

1.5 C. Cooked Chickpeas (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)
1/2 C. Cooked Quinoa
2 Carrots, diced
2 Celery stalks, diced
1/2 Medium onion, diced
3/4 t. Cayenne powder
1 t. Salt
1 t. Onion powder
1 t. Garlic powder
1/3 C. Buffalo sauce (I used Frank's Original)
1/4 C. Oat flour, chickpea flour OR flax meal
1 Chia or flax "egg" - 1 T. ground flax or chia seeds mixed with 3 T. water and allowed to set for 5 min.

Spicy Aoili
1/3 C. Vegan mayonaise, such as Veganaise or Just Mayo
2 T. Buffalo sauce
1/2 t. Smoked Paprika
1/2 t. Garlic Powder
Water to thin, as needed

Preheat oven to 400, (unless you plan on making the patties ahead of time and cooking later). 

Pour a splash of water in a large skillet or frying pan and saute the carrots, celery and onion over medium-high heat until soft. Stir in cayenne, salt, onion powder and garlic powder and cook another 30 seconds to a minute. Remove from heat.

Put chickpeas and quinoa in the bowl of a food processor and add veggie/spice mix. Pulse unil incorporated, pour in buffalo sauce, oat flour and egg replacer. Process until well mixed. 

Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Carefully flip and cook another 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler in your oven and broil for 5 minutes or so, until nicely browned.

While burgers are cooking, simply mix your aoili ingredients together. Adjust spices to your personal preference.

We're not big bun people here, so we enjoy these on romain leaves, or Ezekiel toast, or in a salad. Or on a plate, with a fork. Or without a fork.  Whatever. 

Leftovers will come in very handy throughout the week, so consider making a double batch and saving some for later!