Chickpea Cutlets - Oh so ugly tasty....

There's a reason the Chickpea Cutlets recipe from Veganomicon is famous.   They are satisfyingly tasty in a down home kind of way.  I resisted making these for quite a while because the picture in the book was so unappealing.  I just couldn't believe that something so ugly could taste so yummy and the name wasn't exactly calling out to me either.  I had to take it on blind trust from various sources and I'm so glad I did.  This recipe is now on weekly rotation at our house.  It's not super quick to prepare because the chickpeas are mashed by hand but once that bit is accomplished the rest comes together fairly quickly.  I've been wondering what would happen if I whipped them into the food processor instead and gave a few quick pulses.  Would something crazy happen?   Is the hand mashing with a fork necessary to get the right texture?   I'll have to give a try one day.

So if you're craving something to bite into with a chewy, toothy texture I recommend these.  I love it when I get a hint of lemon zest and garlic in one bite.   This is ugly comfort food at it's best.   I usually make a double batch, throw half in the fridge and mysteriously the leftovers are gone by the end of the following day.    

Warning: the following photos are not pretty, I was too hungry to try and pretty up the final product. 

This is the mixture after kneading all the ingredients together for a few minutes.  It comes together very quickly and the gluten becomes stringy.  I find that you definitely need to add more oil to the pan when you flip them because they seem to soak up oil very quickly.  

My dinner tonight featuring the undeniably ugly Chickpea Cutlet.