The vegetarian versus omnivore battle went down in my home all summer. I’m pretty comfortable cooking vegetarian meals thanks to my own no-meat stint in college, and really, it’s easier than ever these days. However, I’ve recently uttered the sentence, “I think there’s some veggie burgers in the freezer” more than I should. While I’m sure that those patties are healthier than a case of belly bombers, the fact is, they are microwaveable processed food – something I’m not a fan of in general.
I’ve made falafel patties before with considerably more ingredients and used an egg to bind, but I wondered if I could vegan-ize them. I spoke our local queen of green, STL Veg Girl Karyn Dugan, and we kicked around a couple of ideas. I settled on trying sweet potatoes as both a flavor booster and a binder. She couldn’t sell me on “dry frying” though. Baby steps…
This dish packs a protein punch with quinoa and chickpeas. I served these patties with a little hot sauce or garlic aioli (definitely not vegan!), but I have also eaten them for breakfast alongside a little salad and vinaigrette. They are a little crumbly, so take care when flipping.
Vegan Chickpea-Sweet Potato Patties
6 servings
2 cups chopped kale
1 15.5-oz. can chickpeas, drained and liquid reserved
1 cup cooked mashed sweet potato
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups cooked quinoa
2 Tbsp. olive oil
• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S-blade, add the kale, chickpeas and sweet potato and pulse until a smooth paste is formed. If the mixture is dry, add the reserved chickpea liquid 1 tablespoon at a time, but no more than ¼ cup.
• Add the cumin, salt and pepper and pulse a few more times. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and fold in the quinoa.
• Scoop ? cup mixture and form into ½-inch thick patties. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook the patties about 4 minutes per side, flipping carefully to keep them from falling apart.
Dee Ryan is a longtime Sauce contributor who also pens Make This.
This article appears in November 2017.