I started following the Jillian Michaels food plan about 2 months ago. I will tell you that honestly this is the first time I have followed a meal plan and NOT been bored!! I get to choose what I like from her recipes, although for the first 6 weeks I followed her meal plan strictly. Now I have learned portion and meals so can modify and substitute proteins and veggies! One of the recipes I really love is Chickpea burgers! In the JM recipe she uses 19 oz of chickpeas and a tahini sauce. I use 15 ounces of chickpeas and I make a homemade Tzatiki , aka cucumber yogurt sauce. I prefer the tanginess and crunch of the Tzatiki with the smoothness of the chickpea for some texture and taste variety. I also like to put sliced tomatoes on the burger. VERY yummy!
Chickpea Burgers with Cucumber Yogurt sauce
- 15 ounce(s) beans, garbanzo (chickpeas)
- 2 scallion(s) (green onions)
- 1 egg(s)
- 2 tablespoon flour, white whole wheat
- 1 tablespoon oregano, fresh, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon oil, olive, extra-virgin
- 2 pita, 100% whole-wheat
- 1/2 cup(s) yogurt, low-fat plain, drained
- 1/2 cucumber, chopped and seeded
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon low fat sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
To prepare burgers: Place chickpeas, scallions, egg, flour, oregano, cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor. Pulse, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides, until a coarse mixture forms that holds together when pressed. (The mixture will be moist.) I tend to process until it is smooth, but coarse is okay as well. Form into 4 patties.Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook until golden and beginning to crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip and cook until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes more.To prepare sauce: Meanwhile, combine yogurt, chopped cucumber, lemon juice, sour cream and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Divide the patties among the pitas and serve with the sauce. Sliced tomatoes are quite delicious on this sandwich also.To make ahead: Cover and refrigerate the uncooked burger mixture and sauce for up to 2 days.
Place chickpeas, scallion, cumin, four, egg, oregano and salt into the processor:
I then divide the mixture into 4 sections for making the patties.
I then scoop each section and make a patty, that is placed into a hot pan with a little EVOO.
Cook them for 4-5 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for 4 more minutes until brown and crispy.
For the sauce I take the yogurt and drain it. I think the texture of the tzatiki is better when the yogurt is thicker. There are many different methods people use to drain the yogurt. Mine is pretty low tech. I put two paper towels in a plastic container and place a rubber band around the top of the paper towels to hold them in place. That way the yogurt can drain into the bottom of the container. I use plain nonfat yogurt. It is best to let it drain for at least 30 minutes to an hour.
While the yogurt is draining I take a cucumber, peel it and slice it in half and remove the seeds. I rough chop it and place it into a food processor where I blend it up. This creates a lot of cucumber “water”. You can drain it the same way you drained the yogurt or just squeeze it out.
I mix the lemon juice, salt, sour cream, processed cucumber and drained yogurt together in a bowl
Quite often I make the sauce first and pop it into the fridge so the flavors can “shake hands” as my mother would say. Then I make the burgers. It is also a nice contrast to have the cool sauce on a hot burger.
Finally I put the burger into a pita:
Top with a tablespoon of sauce:
And finally top with some sliced tomatoes. I picked this yellow tomato from the garden. Yellow tomatoes are lower in acid, but taste just as yummy as a red tomato!
This burger in a pita with sauce is a very reasonable 375 calories! It is very filling and wonderful lunch or dinner meal!
Enjoy!!
I haven’t tried a chickpea sandwich filling was tzatziki. I have shared this recipe on my July Real Food Meal Plan.
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