I have a few basic principles that I try to keep in mind when I cook:

...Healthy without compromising on taste

...Indulgent without compromising health

...Simple meals that come together quickly

...Snacks and meals that can be made in bulk and frozen

...Recipes that are really versatile

So, with that in mind these Quinoa and Chickpea Burgers make their marks on the tick list. They provide a high protein hit, perfect for a vegan diet, are really simple to throw together, are suitable for freezing and could be dressed up in a variety of ways. Perfect for super speedy lunches or suppers, when I get in late from the gym.

I now make the process even simpler for myself as I cook and freeze batches of chickpeas and quinoa in bulk so I have always have them to hand, it’s also a much cheaper way than buying canned chickpeas or packets of pre-cooked quinoa (which I used to do for speed!)  I prepare a lot of my regularly used ingredients in bulk…I will elaborate on this is a separate post another time.

I sourced the original recipe here and actually made very few changes, other than adding a little leek and a few tweaks to spices.

These burgers held together really well and had a really lovely ‘substantial’ texture due to the quinoa grains. I served them with a simple tomato and basil salsa on a bed of stir fried courgette ribbons and spinach. They’d be equally at home in a bun, or made into small ‘meatballs’ with some spicier flavours….just made a mental note to try this!  I also had a leftover burger which I had cold the next day on its own as a snack, I think that may have been even better than the freshly cooked hot version!

These versatility of these quinoa burgers follow in the same vein as these sweet potato cakes and also these meat balls.

Recipe: Quinoa and chickpea burgers

Makes 4 medium patties (you could easily double this recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup cooked quinoa
• ½ cup cooked mashed chickpeas
• 1 small onion or half a leek- finely chopped
• 1 rounded tbs ground chia or flax seed
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs fresh basil- chopped (or 1tsp dried)
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 4 tbs potato starch/tapioca flour (other starches should also work)
• 1 tbs mild oil for frying

Method

Dry fry the dried spices for approx. 2 minutes until the aromas are released.

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

Chill the mixture for approx. 30-60mins to allow to firm up and marinade

Uisng your hands, form patties approx. 1.5-2cm thick and fry for approx. 5 minutes on each side. To omit most of the oil, you could coat the outside in a very light covering of oil and bake them for approx. 15 minutes until golden (note: I haven’t yet tested this method)