Curried Chickpea Burgers

Did You Know? In Britain the term "curry" has come to mean almost any Indian dish, whilst most people from the [Indian] sub-continent would say it is not a word they use. In India curry simply means "sauce." Therefore, Indian foods made with sauces are all "curries."

The last time I made veggie burgers, I promised to share my favorite variation on the original in the future. Having a soft spot for Thai and Indian flavors, I wanted to incorporate some of the ingredients those cultures tend to turn to. I had also just made a batch of Curried Cauliflower Soup, and the curry craving inside me was not completely satisfied.

I also needed to create a lunch alternative that could be made ahead of time, and was easy to throw together. Which is why I immediately thought to change up my favorite sandwich. Having classes scattered throughout the day, this burger freezes wonderfully, and is sauteed to a golden brown in no time, making it perfect for a busy school day.

Spiked with red curry powder, ginger, and cilantro, the hint of sweet apple really does a wonderful job of rounding out the flavors. And like the previously mentioned, the crisp outside breaks open to a creamy chickpea center, studded with colors and flavors. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients. I can imagine lots of things would work here. Perhaps an Asian patty, with edamame, soy sauce, and ginger? Switching up the chickpeas and tossing in black beans instead. I'll be sure to post more combinations in the future. And if you have any favorites, let me know in the comments.

Curried Chickpea BurgersOriginally adapted from 101 Cookbooks

2 (15-oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
1 medium apple, diced (I used golden delicious)
10-12 baby carrots (about 1/2 cup, grated)
1/2 tablespoon red curry powder
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 cup whole-grain bread crumbs
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or cooking spray

Pulse the carrots in a food processor until finely grated. Add in the chickpeas, eggs, salt, and curry powder. Puree until the mixture is the consistency of a slightly chunky hummus. You don't want a smooth batter. Add the alfalfa sprouts, apple, and cilantro, and pulse a few more times just to combine. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the onion and ginger. Stir in the breadcrumbs and flax, and let sit for a couple of minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture.

Form the burger mixture into patties, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I use an ice cream scoop for this to get around 15-18 small burgers. You can either freeze the patties (which is what I do, so I can have them whenever the mood strikes), or heat up that last tablespoon of oil in a skillet, and cook for a few minutes on each side, until nicely browned and heated through.

Slather with your favorite hummus, and sandwich between you grain of choice. Or try what a lot of others have recommended, and use the burgers as the bun, filling the inside with salad bar ingredients.

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I wanted to ask all of you if you could hop on over to Dianasaur Dishes, and leave a comment on her latest post. Her brother Jason shares his love for ham and mustard sandwiches, and he is just too cute. I know leaving a comment would surely make his day, and pump him up for a future post!

Black & White Cookies

Did You Know? "Back in the day, black and white cookies were actually made by bakeries from their leftover cake batters, with just a little extra flour mixed in so the cookie didn’t spread all over the place. Sometimes called Amerikaner Cookies, they’re also occasionally referred to as "half-moons" Upstate and in New England. However, with a chocolate cake base, not the traditional vanilla/lemon one, they’re not the same thing..." Deb of Smitten Kitchen.

This next recipe comes from a favorite of both myself and Caitlin. Whenever we're in search of an authentic recipe, Smitten Kitchen usually finds itself to the screen in front of us. Ever since her last post, Caitlin has been researching recipes for her next. After a lunch break spent browsing through the archives of our beloved recipe journal, Cait decided these cookies would be our next baking endeavor together. These two-toned delights have always been a favorite of my brother's and her boyfriend's (one and the same), so we knew we had to get a great recipe to impress him by. After reading Deb's thoughtful post, we were convinced these were the real deal. And now that I think of it, my sister has always had a true fondness for these cookies. Although she likes to keep hers to a 100-calorie portion.

We were unsure of what size scoop to go for with these cookies. We wanted a pretty traditional feel, so we knew they were going to be on the large size. After a few trials, we settled on the standard ice cream scoop. Flattening them out a bit after dropping them onto the sheets, we were pretty satisfied with the outcome. The lemon/vanilla base was just what we were hoping for, truly capturing the cakey texture that you would find in a bakery.

Black & White Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups confectioners’ sugar (I used about 6)
1/3 to 1/2 cup water
3 ounces very bitter or unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon light corn syrup.
1 to 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper.

In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter. Mix by machine or hand until fluffy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and lemon extracts, and mix until smooth.

In medium bowl, combine cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until mixed. Add dry mixture to the wet in batches, stirring well after each addition. Using an ice cream scoop, place heaping spoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten slightly with a spoon. Bake until edges begin to brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool completely. *The original recipe says to bake for 18-20 minutes, but I found that far too long. Most of mine were in the oven for not even 10 and were perfectly pale gold at that point.

Boil a cup or so of water in a small pot. Place confectioners’ sugar in large, heat-safe mixing bowl. Gradually stir in enough boiling water to the sugar to make a thick, spreadable mixture. Err on the side of caution because a too-thin frosting is hard to undo. Leave remaining boiling water on the stove.

Flip the cookies over, and spread frosting on half of the flat side of each cookie. Once all cookie halves have been frosted, place the bowl of the remaining frosting over the hot water and bring it back to a simmer (creating a double-boiler). Stir in the bitter or unsweetened chocolate until melted, as well as the light corn syrup. At this point, if the chocolate frosting is not "black" enough, you may want to add a tablespoon or so of cocoa powder.

Ice the remaining half of the cookies with the chocolate frosting. If the frosting gets to dried out, whisk in an extra teaspoon of that hot water from time to smooth it back into a shiny frosting. I definitely didn't smooth my frosting out enough, as you can see in the photos. I ended up using probably double the amount of confectioners sugar, as we opted for a more caked on look.

*These cookies will last no more than a couple days, stored in an air-tight container. Their cakey texture goes stale much quicker than your average cookie.

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