When I received my copy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Veganomicon, I immediately scanned through the center section of the book with color photos and my eye went straight to something called a “Chickpea Cutlet.” I flipped to the recipe and the ingredients were an odd yet intriguing concoction of, among other things, chickpeas, vital wheat gluten and spices. It sounded strange enough to try and I’m glad I did. These cutlets have an amazing texture and flavor—they even enthusiastically passed my husband’s taste test. I’ve made these cutlets several times, tweaking the sides and sauces and, this trio, which we enjoyed last night, hit the mark. Roasted, glazey mini-potatoes with whole roasted garlic cloves and an agave mustard sauce complimented the cutlets perfectly.
For More Cutlet-Style Vegan Ideas, Check These Recipes Out!
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Vegan Chickpea Cutlets
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
for the potatoes
- 1/4 cup earth balance, melted
- 3 TB prepared mustard
- 2 tsps dried thyme
- 1 whole head of garlic, broken apart and peeled
- 2 TB olive oil
- zest of one lemon
- salt and pepper
- 1 pound of tiny potatoes (about the size of grape tomatoes), halved
for the cutlets
- 17 ounces can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or grated with a microplane grater
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- Olive oil for pan frying
for the sauce
- 1/2 cup agave nectar
- 1/2 cup prepared mustard
- One bunch of kale, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
- 2 TB soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425. Whisk together all first six ingredients in a medium-sized pyrex dish. Add in the potatoes and toss until well mixed.
- Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes.While you are waiting for the potatoes to roast, make the chickpea cutlet mixture, by first mashing the chickpeas in a bowl with the olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine well with a Kitchen Aid Mixer for 3-5 minutes. Form into 4-6 cutlets.
- Once your potatoes have roasted for 25 minutes, remove the foil and place the potatoes back into the oven for 20-30 more minutes, giving them a good stir every 10 minutes. They are done when they are carmelized and slightly browned around the edges, but not burnt.
- When your potatoes look like they have about 10 more minutes to go, begin frying the cutlets in a large skillet over medium high heat, about 6-7 minutes on each side.
- In a separate large saucepan, place the kale and soy sauce and saute over medium high heat for 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately with the agave mustard dipping sauce.
Elle says
Erin, you've motivated me to give this recipe another chance! I'm planning on cooking chickpea cutlets for dinner tonight and serving them with mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus and mushroom sauce (Mr Meat-and-Potatoes loves the stuff). I have no idea what I did wrong, but sadly, my last attempt at this recipe resulted in chickpea cookies! Hopefully I have better luck this time around! 🙂
erinwyso says
Hmmmm — are you using wheat gluten instead of vital wheat gluten? VWG should make everything bind up immediately. Yes, this is hands-down, one of our most favorite dinners. Thanks for stopping by, Elle, and good luck with the cutlets tonight! : )
Elle says
I used vital wheat gluten. 🙂 The dough was fine pre-cooking but for some reason the cutlets ended up resembling cookies after baking. Isa did give instructions for baking but perhaps they'd be better pan-fried. I didn't end up cooking them the other evening (the mister requested Chickpea Picatta instead) but I'm hoping to make an attempt sometime this week. Hopefully pan-frying them will be the key to success! 🙂
erinwyso says
Hmmmm… I have no idea what's going on then! I've always pan-fried them, and they've turned out great, so maybe that is it!
erinwyso says
Thanks Lauren! My omni husband LOVES these!
Lauren says
This looks beautiful! I will definitely have to give this a try for my next fancy family dinner party! I think my dad would love this!
Monique a.k.a. Mo says
That is one beautiful plate of food. I love chickpea cutlets. I always have to make a double batch because they go so fast.