Chickpea Burgers with Lemon Garlic Aioli

The last time I posted a chickpea recipe I couldn't believe how excited people got, after all, the chickpea is just a humble little ingredient that we all have in the back of our pantries sitting forlorn and neglected. But apparently, lots of people love them and are looking for ways to use them but just can't think of how. This recipe is the result of the same dilemma and also the need to make dinner from ingredients I had lying around the house. To any woman who is thinking of serving these to her husband here is a tip: they truly are delicious burgers, but say "chickpea burger" to a man and most of them will go running to their mama's house for pot roast. Instead, call them falafel burgers because that is sort of what they taste like,( and what man doesn't like falafel?) and you will see he will down at least 2 of these. Truthfully, these burgers have everything that falafel is made of in them and more but the upside is that they are only pan fried and not deep fried and thus are super healthy (you can omit that piece of info from your hubby as well). I served them on fresh sesame buns with sliced tomato and avocado (avocado is crucial here, it just went so well!) and a slather of the lemon garlic aioli which is just a fancy name for a flavored mayonnaise. The lemon in the aioli really added brightness to the burgers and helped everything come together amazingly. So, as sketchy as these burgers may sound I PROMISE you they are delicious (just look at that picture and tell me you don't want to devour that) and beg you to make them tonight! Enjoy!


For the burgers: (makes about 8 nice size burgers)
2 stalks celery
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
2 cans chickpeas,  drained
1/3 cup chopped parsley
juice of 1 lemon
1 small carrot, shredded
2 tsp cumin
2 eggs
3 Tbl Tehina paste
3 Tbl olive oil
2/3 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbl oil for frying
Hamburger buns
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced avocado


In a food processor pulse the celery, onion and garlic together until finely chopped but not pureed (alternatively, you can just chop them by hand very finely or hand grate them). Remove the veggies to a bowl and add the chickpeas. Pulse a few times until the chickpeas are partially pureed but still a little chunky (you can also just hand mash them with a potato masher). Add the chickpeas to the veggies and add the rest of the ingredients. Season very well with salt and pepper. The mixture should be a little wet but not too wet - if its to wet add a little more bread crumbs. Shape the mixture into patties the size of your burger buns and pan fry in the oil until both sides are brown. Serve on a bun with the aioli, tomatoes and avocado.

For the Aioli:
1 cup mayonaise
zest of half a lemon
juice of a lemon
2 tsp minced garlic
2 drops hot sauce (optional)
salt and pepper

Mix all together in a bowl and serve with the burgers.