Chickpea & Brown Rice Veggie Burgers with Tomato Salad

I am a big fan of veggie burgers and think they are a great healthier option to a big beefy burger.  This reminds me....before I was a vegetarian and when I was living in Berkeley (this might be an oxy moron), I used to frequent this pub/bar with the BEST Blue Cheese Burger EVER.  OMG, I am drooling just thinking about it.  A big beef patty, a huge mound of blue cheese, and an buttered toasted roll.  It was so so so good.  Unfortunately, from what I have heard, Raleigh's burned down after changing ownership.  Oh well, good for me since I would be tempted to devour it upon visiting the bay area.  Anyway, back on topic.  My boss found this Veggie Burger recipe from Weight Watchers and it looks pretty good for you chickpea/hummus lovers out there.  I don't really eat chickpeas anymore because the texture really bothers my stomach (same with avocado, it sucks!), but these looked pretty appetizing.  While I was making them I kept thinking it would be easy to turn them into little balls, too, and make them into a falafel type of meal.  Also, the recipe called for 1 egg white, but I couldn't get the ingredients to bind well at all with just one, so I ended up using 2 and it was perfect.

This recipe is only 4 points on weight watchers for the whole meal!  Salad and burger!!  You could probably add a bun if you wanted for a few extra points as well.  It is super healthy, packed with protein, and I think will even satisfy meat eaters.  If you wanted, you could double or triple this recipe and freeze the patties for later use as well!

Anyway, I think the real star of this meal is the salad!  It is such a pretty component and dressed up the burger so nicely!  I made a cucumber and tomato salad with the left over veggies and it was so delicious and pretty!

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Chickpea and Brown Rice Veggie Burgers

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• ½ cup cooked brown rice
• 2 tablespoon dried plain bread crumbs whole wheat
• 3 tablespoon shredded carrots
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 3 tablespoon uncooked scallion s, minced (1 medium)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
• 1 lg egg white I used 2 egg whites because the burgers wasn't binding well

Instructions

1. To make burgers, place chickpeas in bowl of a food processor; pulse for 10 second intervals until a course texture is reached, about 20 to 30 seconds total. Add rice and pulse again to combine, about 10 seconds more.
2. Spoon mixture into a large bowl. Add bread crumbs, carrots, parsley, scallions, lemon zest, coriander, salt and pepper; mix to combine. Add egg white and mix again to combine; refrigerate for at least 10 minutes or up to overnight.
3. Spray a grill rack or grill pan with cooking spray; heat grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.
4. Form the mixture into 4 burgers using about ⅓ cup of mixture for each (I used a ½ cup but didn't fill it all the way up, it helped form a nice burger shape). Place burgers on the pan and spray the tops with cooking spray. Grill burgers, without moving them (don't move them-you want a nice crisp on each side!!), until golden brown and crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Carefully flip burgers and cook until golden brown and crispy on other side, about 6 minutes more. Yields 1 burger per serving.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers Points: 4 per serving (salad and burger)

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Tomato Salad

Ingredients

• ½ cup s cucumber(s), diced
• ¼ cup s sweet red pepper(s), diced
• 2 tablespoon uncooked red onion s, thinly slivered
• ¼ cup s grape tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 2 tablespoon parsley fresh, chopped
• 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil extra-virgin
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. To make salad, combine salad ingredients in a medium bowl; toss to combine and set aside.