Sweet potato, chickpea and hemp seed burgers

After buying hemp seeds, I had my eye on Kari's recipe for Sweet potato, chickpea and hemp seed burgers for some time.  I finally made them after a busy day of shoe shopping, dancing around the kitchen, answering important questions like where was Sylvia before she was born, and letting the cat in and out of the back door.

I had a yen to eat them in a sandwich.  I had home made bread, made some coconut bacon and chopped spinach and tomato.  I wish I could tell you the burgers were a roaring success.  Unfortunately it was a charcoal feast.  I made them rather thin and got distracted while they cooked under the grill.

The next night I had a yen for chips on the way home from work.  We needed a few things at the supermarket.  I came away with a bag of potato gems (I think they call them tater tots in America) and other junk food that I don't usually buy.  Just goes to show that I shouldn't go grocery shopping when tired after work.  The potato gems were very nice with the burgers, salad and corn on the cob.

I made a few changes to Kari's recipe.  One was to use spring onions rather than raw brown onions in the mixture and I wonder if the brown onions might have given more bite.  I used less water and added in some mustard.

I often cook my burgers under the grill but in this case I found that they really were better when baked.  The oven baked ones were nicely cooked and tasted lovely.  In fact, they reminded me a bit of vegie burgers that I might buy.  By that I don't mean they were overly processed.  Rather I mean they were substantial and held together well.  A recipe to try again and maybe try with mashed pumpkin.

I am sending these to Ricki for Wellness Weekends, an event celebrating healthy vegan food.

Other vegan burgers on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

• Chesapeake tempeh cakes (v)
• Chickpea cutlets (v)
• Quinoa and sun-dried tomato burgers (gf, v)
• Roasted Beetroot Tofu Burgers (gf, v)
• Smoked tofu and bean burgers (gf, v)

Sweet potato, chickpea and hemp seed burgers
Adapted from Bite Sized Thoughts
serves 4

2 cups mashed sweet potato
400g tin (1 1/2 cups) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds)
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds (or sesame seeds, if you don't have hemp)
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp seeded mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp lavendar salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
oil spray, for grilling

Roughly mash chickpeas and mix with all ingredients until you have a smooth and fairly thick mixture. Check and adjust seasoning.   If you have time, rest mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes.  Using damp hands, grab handfuls of mixture and flatten into burgers.  Place on a tray lined with baking paper.  Spray with oil.  Bake at 180 C for 30 minutes one side and (respraying) 15 minutes the other side or until golden brown.  Just as good reheated in the oven the next night.

On the Stereo:
Music to Watch Girls Go By: Various Artists

This post is part of Vegan Month of Food October 2012.  Go to my Vegan MoFo list for more of my Vegan MoFo posts.