A Vegan Recipe from Italy

 Burger vegan di ceci – Vegan Burger of Chickpeas

So, my second book, Mangia with Micheline, the Journey Continues is finally published and I’ve been busy delivering books to my friends and family. I brought a book to Sal Marzilli, the chef owner of the Old Canteen, as he so kindly wrote a recommendation for it.  I often, go into the kitchen, and we discuss the videos from the chefs in Italy that I watch on Facebook. In one video the chef was making polpette di pane, which translates into bread balls. Now I have a recipe for polpette di formaggio, which translates into cheese balls. That was the same recipe the chef was preparing. My recipe was shared in May 2014 issue of the Foster Home Journal and is in the second book. Sal was interested in trying the polpette di formaggio, or as my mother called them “war meatballs”.  He even gave me a loaf of Italian bread that I needed to make them.  So, the other week I headed into the Old Canteen with a container of my “war meatballs” still warm from the stove. Sal gave them two thumbs up! I may be the only customer that brings food to the chefs!

Now the problem with watching these Italian chefs is that they speak Italian, and the recipe is in Italian. I have to say I’m getting better at figuring out the ingredients. There’s always a link to the recipe, which I copy into my translation App, then I guesstimate grams into cups.

There have been some interesting recipes that will soon appear on my table. One such recipe I tried is a vegan burger. I really have limited experience making vegan food, vegetarian dishes are less challenging as many Italian recipes are naturally meatless. I have to say these “burgers” did come out tasty. I used different colored carrots, just because I like the way it looks. I also used a Vidalia onion, but red or yellow onion would work as well. I used a spicy brown mustard, although it showed yellow mustard. I made sandwiches with lettuce and tomato for my husband, but I had mine with a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Here is my version of an Italian vegan burger.

Burger vegan di ceci – Vegan Burger of Chickpeas

1 cup of finely chopped carrots.

1/2 cup finely chopped onions.

1 pound can od chickpeas, drained.

3 – 4 tablespoons mustard.

1 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper or to taste.

Salt to taste

Cook the carrots and onions in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil until soft, then salt them. Meanwhile mash the chickpeas, add pepper and garlic powder, then the mustard. Once the vegetables are cooked, add to the chickpea mixture, and mix well. Using a pastry cutter works great to make sure everything is mixed well. Form into a regular shape, then cook in a pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil, for about 4-5 minutes per side until a golden crust forms on the surface. Serve hot.  I made six burgers with this recipe.