mediterranean chickpea + tabouli sliders

Day 3 of our Burger Extravaganza is brought to you by these lovely Mediterranean Chickpea and Tabouli Sliders. These sliders are perfect when you are craving good old' fashioned hummus and tabouli, but prefer to have them in every single bite.

These particular sliders are made with freekeh tabouli and cooked chickpeas.

Last year I tested for Tami Noyes' and Celine Steen's upcoming cookbook, The Great Vegan Protein Book, and it is no secret that Tami loves to use freekeh - which is toasted and cracked green wheat. The very best thing about freekeh is that it is loaded with protein.

You can use regular cracked wheat in this recipe (you will need 1 1/2 cups cooked cracked wheat), but I recommend you find freekeh because it is delicious and nutritious.

I love sliders because they are cute as a button, easy to eat and your burger stays relatively together during consumption.

I top these adorable sliders with Tahini-Lemon Sauce that is spiced with just a tad bit of Sriracha, because you can't really go wrong there!

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKPEA AND TABOULI PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Mediterranean Chickpea and Tabouli Sliders

Makes 10 sliders

1 cup packed parsley leaves

½ cup mint leaves

4 scallions, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 ½ cups cooked freekeh, cooled

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (zest lemon first)

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

¾ cup quick cooking oatmeal

¼ cup vegetable broth

1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon red chili flakes

Zest of 1 lemon

10 slider buns, toasted

Garnish: lettuce leaves, thin slices of red bell pepper

Tahini-Lemon Sauce (recipe below)

1. Combine the parsley, mint, scallions, garlic and oil in a food processor. Process until fine and transfer to a large bowl. Add the freekeh , lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper. Set aside.

2. Heat the oatmeal and broth in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir and cook until the oatmeal thickens. Transfer oatmeal to the freekeh mixture.

3. Add the chickpeas, paprika, chili flakes and lemon zest in a food processor. Pulse only to break up the chickpeas into smaller pieces, about 4 (2-second) pulses. Transfer to the freekeh. Mix the burger mixture well using a large wooden spoon or hands. Taste and adjust seasoning. Divide the mixture into 10 portions and form into small 2-inch burgers.

4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking oil or add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Cook the burgers until golden, about 2 minutes per side.

5. Make the sliders by adding a lettuce leaf, a slider burger, a tablespoon of sauce and a few slices of bell pepper to each toasted bun. Serve with extra Sriracha.

Tahini-Lemon Sauce

¼ cup tahini

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

1 to 2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce

3 tablespoons finely minced parsley

1 garlic clove, minced

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well and adjust seasoning with salt, black pepper.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

I am linking to these recipe parties: Healthy Vegan Fridays, What I Ate Wednesday and Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck. 

 

     

portobello adobo burger + "vegan chocolate" winner

Day 2 of our burger extravaganza is a Portobello Adobo Burger with Roasted Corn and Guacamole. This is a gluten free burger, depending on the bun used. What makes this burger an adobo is the marinade, which is a dried pepper puree, spiked with a few seasonings, including cumin, oregano and garlic.

It is important to remove the gills of the portobellos, otherwise you end up with an unappetizing black mushroom instead of a lightly seared, red-ish colored masterpiece. Use a spoon to scrape out the gills and discard or compost them.

Guajillo peppers used in the adobo are not all that spicy, so it makes for a perfect adobo. You can use other dried peppers, but be wary of the heat level. You can procure dried chili peppers in the produce section of most grocery stores or hit up your local Mexican market, where you will find more varieties of dried chillies than you'll know what to do with.

I served our mushroom burgers with rice and beans flavored with lime zest and cilantro. Another great side dish could be this Creamy Macaroni Salad, the Tex-Mex Variation (EVE, page 98), from Everyday Vegan Eats.

As a quick reminder, Vegan Richa is giving away a copy of Everyday Vegan Eats in the next few days. It's easy to enter to win! Go HERE.

And now for the recipe:

\

PORTOBELLO ADOBO BURGER PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Portobello Adobo with Roasted Corn and Guacamole

Serves 4

1 ounce (about 6) guajillo peppers

2 tablespoons neutral oil, divided

½ small onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ cup water

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon natural sugar

½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Fresh ground black pepper

4 portobello mushrooms, stemmed and gilled

4 burger buns, toasted

½ cup corn kernels, thawed if frozen

Guacamole, recipe below

Spinach leaves, as needed

1. Toast the peppers in a dry skillet over medium heat until the peppers are pliable and lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. When cool enough to handle, stem and seed the peppers. Soak the peppers with fresh water just enough to cover in a medium bowl for about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer the peppers to a blender.

2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano. Stir and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to the blender.

3. Add the water, salt, sugar, vinegar and black pepper, to taste, to the blender. Blend until smooth. Transfer the mushrooms to a large baking pan and add the adobo marinade. Rub the mushrooms with the marinade on both sides. Set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes or overnight.

4. Heat a few teaspoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add a few mushrooms and cover the skillet. Cook until the mushrooms begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Flip the mushrooms and continue to cook on the other side, covered, for another 3 minutes. Flip the mushrooms again and continue to cook if the mushroom is not tender.

5. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the corn and stir and cook until golden brown, about 6 minutes.

6. Divide the spinach among the burger buns, top with a mushroom, gill side up, add about 2 tablespoons of guacamole and top with 2 tablespoons of roasted corn. Add the top of the burger bun and serve.

Guacamole

2 avocados, peeled, pitted and mashed

1 small ripe tomato, finely chopped

3 scallions, finely chopped

¼ small jalapeño, finely minced

2 tablespoons minced cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well and adjust seasoning with salt, black pepper and lime juice.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Now for the winner of  "Vegan Chocolate - Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Dairy-Free Desserts" by Fran Costigan. Drum roll, please....

The winner is comment number 13: Turtle. I'll be contacting you! Thank you everyone for playing along. Stay tuned for more giveaways, as it is, after all, MoFo and I'll be giving away 4 more cookbooks this month, including Vegan Tacos by Jason Wyrick.