I used to be a total carnivore, eating meat two times a day, and considering a meal without meat not a “true meal”. But those days are over now, and I have been eating healthier things for a couple of years. And I really love playing with legumes and creating new recipes. One of my favorites is this lentil chickpea patties recipe, and I make veggie burgers with them. Yummy! They’re easily stored in the freezer, and whenever you need them, just cook in a pan or grill for few minutes and prepare your burger. Yummy!

Lentil Chickpea Patties

makes 25 patties

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lentils
• 2 cups chickpeas
• 1 large onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 75 gr. (2,65 oz. or 3 slices) bread (use just the soft inner part of the bread)
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste* (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 5 teaspoons ground thyme
• pepper
• salt

* Tomato paste (“salca” in Turkish) is a commonly used ingredient in Turkish cuisine. It is basically concentrated tomato puree. Follow this link for more information, or buy from Amazon.com.

Directions:

Boil the lentils and chickpeas. Process them in a food processor (You don’t have to process them well. I like some texture!)

Wash (yeah, wash!) the bread with water, and squeeze it (It should be moist but not wet).

Process the onion, garlic and walnuts together in a food processor.

Mix all the parts and knead the mixture well. Form 5 cm (~2-inch) patties.

Grill the patties or cook them on a lightly greased pan. You can dip them in flour before cooking.