Quinoa and chickpea burgers with lemon tahini

Ingredients

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• ¾ cup dry quinoa, rinsed in a fine strainer
• 2 cans (15 oz each) no-salt-added chickpeas, drained and rinsed (3 cups, 492 g)
• 1 cup grated carrot (2 medium)
• 4 medium scallions, sliced
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 large eggs
• 1 lemon, zested (1 tbsp, 6 g)
• 1 lemon, juiced (about 3 tbsp, 48 g)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp ground coriander seed
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil, for the pan
• 1½ cups water for the quinoa
• 8 whole-wheat hamburger buns
• 3 tbsp tahini, stirred well (sauce)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (1 fl oz, sauce)
• ⅛ tsp garlic powder (sauce)
• 8 medium tomato slices
• 8 inner romaine leaves
• 3 tbsp water for the sauce

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Rinse the quinoa in a fine strainer. Toast it in a dry saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring, until it looks dry and smells nutty. Add 1½ cups water and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer 18 to 20 minutes, a quarter longer than at sea level at 5,300 ft, until the water is gone and the white tails curl. Rest 5 minutes covered.
2. 2Fluff the quinoa with a fork and spread it on a plate for 15 minutes to cool. It makes about 2 cups.
3. 3Tip the chickpeas into a large bowl and crush about half with a potato masher, leaving the rest whole. Fold in the quinoa, carrot, scallions, parsley and oats.
4. 4Beat the eggs in a small bowl with the lemon zest, the juice of 1 lemon, garlic powder, coriander, pepper and salt. Stir into the bowl until a squeezed handful holds together.
5. 5Cover and chill 30 minutes. The oats and quinoa take up the egg and the mixture firms.
6. 6Wet your hands. Shape 8 patties of about 160 g (5½ oz) each, 3½ inches wide and about an inch thick; weigh the first one and match the rest by eye. Set them on a plate.
7. 7Stir the tahini, the 2 tbsp lemon juice, the ⅛ tsp garlic powder and 3 tbsp water into a smooth, pourable sauce.
8. 8Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbsp of the oil. Cook 4 patties 5 minutes without moving them, until a golden crust forms. Flip, cook 4 minutes, then cover the pan for 3 minutes. They are done when both sides are browned and the middle reads 160 °F (they hold egg). Repeat with the last tbsp of oil and the other 4 patties.
9. 9Toast the buns cut side down in the empty pan for 1 minute. Build each burger with a patty, a spoonful of sauce, a tomato slice and a romaine leaf.
10. 10Cool leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F; CDC), then refrigerate for up to 4 days (our kitchen practice; we hold no published source for it yet). Reheat to 165 °F. To freeze, wrap cooled cooked patties one by one and freeze up to 3 months (our kitchen practice; we hold no published source for it yet); thaw overnight in the fridge.