Chickpea Burgers with Yogurt-Avocado Sauce
You may remember that I confessed that I am NOT a cook, but I am eagerly striving to become one. You may also remember that I raved about Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything. In order to practice what I preach, I gave myself a challenge a few days ago: Open Mark Bittman’s book to any random page, and commit to cooking whatever is there.
And didn’t I open to the page on bean burgers! 
I have never shaped a burger patty in my life, let alone one made from beans. But I love all types of bean and veggie burgers, so I decided to go for it. NO FEAR! 
Fortunately, as I mentioned before, Bittman’s book is very clear and basic. He has a tendency to make one feel less intimidated by inserting the word “simple” into many of his recipes.
Unfortunately at the time I wasn’t expecting to be blogging about this meal, or I might have more photos of the actual process. Let’s just say that, while I would certainly not consider myself a bean burger expert, I managed to produce a chickpea burger that looked pretty good and tasted delicious! 
Following Bittman’s lovely visual aids:
Before cooking:
All finished!
Topped with yogurt-avocado sauce:
Whole Meal (I ended up stuffing the burger into the pita, with steamed Brussels sprouts on the side)
As the lovely Rachael Ray would say, Yum-O!
Want to try? Here’s what I did:
Chickpea Burgers with Yogurt-Avocado Sauce (adapted from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything)
Burgers (makes 4-6 burgers, depending on how big you make them)
1 14oz. can chickpeas, drained
1 medium onion, quartered
1/2 cup rolled oats (preferably not instant)
1 tbsp spice mix of your choice (I went with Fine Herbs, which was quite good!)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
Extra virgin olive oil for the pan
1. Combine beans, onion, oats, spice mix, salt and pepper, and egg in a food processor. Pulse until chunky but not puréed, to produce a moist but not wet mixture. Let the mixture rest a few minutes if time allows. (I stuck it in the fridge.)
2. With wet hands, shape into whatever size patties you want and again let rest for a few minutes if time allows. (I stuck mine in the fridge again.)
3. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil and turn the heat to medium. When hot, add the patties (CAREFULLY!). Cook until nicely browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Turn (CAREFULLY!) and cook on the other side until firm and browned, about another 5 minutes.
4. Pat yourself on the back! Enjoy your burgers!
Yogurt-Avocado Sauce (makes 1 cup)
1 cup yogurt (I used plain Greek yogurt)
1 tsp minced garlic
salt and freshly ground pepper (not much)
1/2 ripe avocado (purée if necessary)
a little freshly squeezed lemon juice
1. Stir together all ingredients.
2. Serve immediately or refrigerate; bring back to near room temperature before serving.
Themocracy
Sounds delicious! I’m going to try this one!
This was so good! I’ll definitely make it again.