Comfort Food: Crispy Cajun Chickpea Cakes

Thursday, January 19, 2012
On the left, the original, bland recipe. On the right, my modified version.

Before I became a vegan, I often made salmon cakes. I found this recipe by Vegan Dad with ingredients that reminded me of my former, non-vegan addiction. While I wasn't necessarily looking for a replacement recipe for salmon cakes, I was intrigued by the promise of cajun flavoring and the similarity of components and construction.

My first batch adhered perfectly to Vegan Dad's instructions, but upon tasting it I was disappointed. I found the cakes bland but with the potential to be great. Below is my modified version of the recipe. While my cakes did not cook quite as prettily as the original due to increased moisture, they are - if I may say so myself - quite delicious and a perfect comfort food.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1 celery stalk, diced
1 28-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic
1 heaping tsp. thyme
1 heaping tsp. paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp. hot sauce
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil for sautéing and grilling

Method:
1. Sauté pressed garlic, onion, green pepper, and celery in a small amount of olive oil for 5-7 minutes, until softened. Remove from pan.
2. Place chickpeas and onion sauté in food processor. Pulse mixture until chickpeas are no longer whole, but leave some chunks for texture. Add this to bowl and add dried spices, hot sauce, mustard, and parsley. Mix well. Add flour and cornstarch, mixing well. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Shape chickpea mixture into 6 thin patties and grill in a pan lightly misted with olive oil. Flip cakes several times until both sides are evenly browned.

Serve with your favorite side dishes, over salad, or burger style.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous said...:

    I'm really digging this recipe! I've been saddened that Whole Foods never has vegan crab cakes anymore, and I'm thinking this may be just the thing to fill the void. :) I'll let ya know how it turns out.

    Looking forward to more posts from you!

  1. Katharine said...:

    Thanks, Katie! Those vegan crab cakes sound delicious. Maybe we can find a copy cat recipe somewhere to make together when we next see each other. :) Happy cooking!

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