Easy Sunday lunch: chick-pea burgers in sweet miso sauce.
Chick-pea burgers, the macrobiotic way.
Ingredients:
– Chick peas: 3 cups
– Mineral water : 9 cups
– Onions: 750 gr.
– Carrots: 60 gr.
– Parsley
– Sea salt (no refined)
– Miso
Cook the chickpeas in water either using a pressure cooker or a conventional pan, the time and taste will obviously change. If you are in a hurry you can use tinned ones.
Cut the onions into little cubes an sauté them in some oil for few minutes. I use sesame oil but any other oil will do. After they have softened add a little bit of extra water and keep cooking for few minutes more. If you are using ceramic pots you can just cook them with a little bit of water, without oil: the taste will definitely be lighter and sweeter. think about investing in one or two of these pots: they are simply amazing. When the onion caramelize put them on one side of the pan and cook the carrots in the remain space. After few minutes make sure to cover the carrots with the cooked onions so the heat will distribute evenly to the food; dissolve the miso paste in warm water and pour it onto the pan, stir well all the ingredients and let them cook for few minutes more until some of the excess water has evaporated. When cooked add the chopped parsley.
In a bowl roughly mash the chick peas but be careful to leave some chunks in them; add the cooked vegetables and combine well all the ingredients possibly with a wodden spoon. The idea is to “cut into” the mixture with the spoon rather than mix it,; if this way of combining the ingredients is too “macrobiotic” just mix them all together as best as you can. Shape the burgers and fry them in a non-sticky skillet with a little bit of oil: around 4 minutes on each side should be enough. If the burgers are too soft add some buckwheat flour to the mixture until they hold the shape nicely.
The sauce in the picture is simply made mixing 1 tablespoon of tahini, 2 tablespoons of sweet miso and 1 tablespoon of water.
A variation, less macrobiotic version, would consist in cooking the onions and carrots with some spices of your choice: oregano, chilly, anything you like. Experiment!
I served the burgers with some steamed cauliflowers (seasoned with with poppy seeds and ume su) and stir fried courgette ribbons (I have used extra virgin olive oil).
Enjoy and feel free to experiment, make changes, add ingredients: remember that cooking is mainly fun.
Filed under: antispecism, macrobiotics, vegan cooking