Chickpea Cutlets are a classic recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz, fantastic for Thanksgiving or Christmas menus, or everyday meals. They come together in no time at all, taste great smothered in gravy, and put your steak knives to work. Place a big pile of these in the middle of the table or stuff them into a sandwich-or just slice them up in a salad. Excerpted from The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook © 2016 by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Reprinted with permission of Little, Brown and Company. All rights reserved.
Recipe
Double Batch Chickpea Cutlets
Ingredients
- 15 ounce can chickpeas rinsed and drained, or 1 1⁄2 cups cooked chickpeas
- ¼ cup olive oil plus more for pan-frying
- 4 garlic cloves pressed or grated
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten see tip below recipe box
- 1 cup plain bread crumbs
- ½ cup vegetable broth or water
- ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the oil until no whole chickpeas are left . Alternatively, you can pulse the chickpeas in a food processor. We’re not making hummus here, so be careful not to puree them, just get them mashed up.
- You can also sneak the garlic cloves in here instead of grating them—just pulse them up before adding the chickpeas. If you’re using a food processor, transfer to a mixing bowl when done.
- Add the remaining ingredients and knead together for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed.
- Divide the cutlet dough into two equal pieces. en divide each of those pieces into four separate pieces (so you’ll have eight all together).
- To form the cutlets, knead each piece of dough in your hands for a few moments and then flatten and stretch it into a roughly 4-by-6-inch rectangle. The easiest way to do this is to form the rectangle in your hands and then place the cutlet on a clean surface to flatten and stretch it.
- Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-low heat. If you have two pans and want to cook all the cutlets at once, go for it. Otherwise you’ll be doing them in two batches.
- Add a shallow layer of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minutes. Add more oil, if needed, when you flip the cutlets. they’re ready when lightly browned and firm to the touch. They cook more thoroughly if you cover the pan in between flips. Use a spatula to press down on them occasionally while they’re cooking, to help them cook more evenly.
- Now, let them rest for 10 minutes or so and serve.
Nutrition (Estimate per Serving)
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Tip: Wheat gluten can vary from brand to brand. These come out great with Arrowhead Mills or Bob's Red Mill, although I think Bob's makes them a bit firmer. Also, use store-bought bread crumbs unless you plan on tweaking the liquids in this recipe. Homemade bread crumbs tend to make the cutlet mixture too mushy.
- Here are more Isa Chandra Moskowitz recipes on VegKitchen
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LaShanna says
This is the best vegan patty I've ever made and the quickest way I've ever made anything with vital wheat gluten! Thank you
VR says
This looks delicious!
miki says
Is there a gluten substitute?
Gigi says
Can these be frozen? Also what is the nutritional facts for each cutlet
Nava says
Gigi, these strike me as something that would freeze well. This is a contributed recipe by Isa Moskowitz, who doesn't supply nutrition facts in her books, but you can DIY with programs like the one at myfitnesspal.com
Shannon says
Isa Chandra Moskowitz (and Terry Hope Romero) were the first vegan cookbook authors in my life -- before I was even vegan -- and these cutlets were my first foray into wheat gluten powder. They still stand up. Much quicker and easier than seitan! I like to use them in ISM's piccata recipe.
Thanks for your note re: homemade breadcrumbs!