Table Talk: Chickpea Cakes with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

Whaaat?  Who would pick that for their recipe?  Is this some kind of joke? 

Um, no.  Not a joke. 

It was my week to host.

And I was trying to choose a recipe that was new and different.  

I also noticed that we hadn't made anything from the vegetarian section of the book yet.

Have I told you that Tyler almost turned into a vegan a couple weeks ago?

Yeah, he eats humus now.

I'm not really sure how it all came about but it was about the same time he turned into a cowboy and started listening only to Country music.  Well, and Classical music sometimes.

Basically, he wanted to be a vegan cowboy.

It's weird, but that about sums up Tyler.  Weird.  But also why I love him.  

Never a dull moment and just the way I like it.

Anyway, I thought since he was a humus-eating-fool these days, it would be a good time to try and throw something like a chickpea cake on the table for dinner.  

A couple months ago, he probably would have taken one look at this and walked out.  Maybe for good, maybe just to head to McDonald's.  

We'll never know.

I chickened out during the last couple days and decided I had to at least make these into a sandwich.  

I mean, we've shown some progress in the eating healthy department lately, but just a chickpea cake might just be crossing a serious line.  Just to be careful, I threw in some buns, made from this potato bread recipe (I made one regular loaf and then 10 rolls with 2-2.5 oz of dough/roll).  

I'm pretty sure I would eat anything on that potato bread.

And then, like any other time I'm uncomfortable, I threw in some avocado and tomato.

I know what you're thinking.  Why am I being a freak when I'm the one who picked the dang recipe.  Because I'm a weirdo too.  That's why Tyler loves me. ;)

The verdict:  Not so bad, my friend.  My kids actually ate these!  What?  Yeah.  We all ate them.  I had Ramen on stand-by because I was feeling a little bad for Calvin.  And when he saw what I was making, he started making the Ramen for himself.  Poor kid.  I told him if he ate some of his dinner (like, tried it) he could have something else.  But, no need.  He ate his sandwich and then just some extra bread.  And even though Tyler can give him a run for his money, Calvin is my pickiest eater.  If the pickiest eater eats it, it's a keeper.

Now, would I crave this?  No.  Would I make this again?  Probably.  I really liked the cucumber yogurt sauce and I didn't mind the cakes but I did have a hard time getting those stinking things to stay together. 

You know what irks me?  When a recipe (and there are a few of them in this book) says 2 slices of bread.  Seriously?  Give me a measurement!  All slices aren't created equal!  I need to know how many cups of bread crumbs I'm supposed to end up with.  I'm not sure if that's why they didn't stay together, maybe my slices were bigger/smaller than whatever they used in the test kitchen, I don't know.  They held up enough to cook them, I just had to be super careful when flipping but I would have liked the recipe a lot more if that weren't an issue.

All in all, they were healthy, flavorful and delicious and I hope all my cooking friends don't hate me for picking such a bizarre recipe.

Oh, and in the original recipe, you end up with 6 cakes, but I made 10 smaller ones to better fit my buns.  

Chickpea Cakes with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

2 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, torn into pieces (see what I mean?  Dude!)
1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and shredded
Salt and pepper
1¼ cups 2% Greek yogurt (I used 0% Greek Yogurt and it worked great)
6 scallions, sliced thin
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed
2 large eggs
10 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garam masala
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper  (I left this out because I'm a sissy)
1 shallot, minced
Lime wedges (for serving)  (I forgot to serve with lime wedges, but will next time, it would have been delicious!)
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Pulse the bread in a food processor to coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Spread the crumbs out over a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and dry, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Meanwhile, toss the cucumber with ½ teaspoon salt in a colander and let drain for 15 to 30 minutes. Combine the drained cucumbers, ¾ cup of the yogurt, 2 tablespoons of the scallions, and 1 tablespoon of the cilantro in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pulse the chickpeas in a food processor to a coarse puree with large pieces remaining, about 8 pulses. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, 2 tablespoons of the oil, garam masala, cayenne, and ⅛ teaspoon salt together. Add the processed chickpeas, breadcrumbs, remaining ½ cup yogurt, remaining scallions, remaining 3 tablespoons cilantro, and shallot until just combined. Divide the chickpea mixture into 6 equal portions, about ½ cup each, and lightly pack into 1-inch-thick patties.

4. Heat 2 teaspoons more oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Carefully lay half of the patties in the skillet and cook until well browned on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Transfer the cakes to a plate and tent loosely with foil. Return the skillet to medium heat and repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and remaining burgers. Serve with the cucumber-yogurt sauce and lime wedges.  Or you can serve like this:

And then do this:

To make ahead: The sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The cakes can be prepared through step 3, covered tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before cooking.
Serves 6
Cal 240; Fat 12g; Sat Fat 2.5g; Chol 75mg; Carb 23g; Protein 12g; Fiber 5g; Sodium 570mg

Note:  This post was, in no way, meant to be offensive to vegan cowboys.

As well as being posted on America's Test Kitchen Feed, this recipe can also be found in The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook