Ever since I picked up a copy of Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Googled to see what other people made from it, these chickpea cutlets came up time and time again. I’m not sure why I haven’t made them before now – the only reason I can think of is because they contain vital wheat gluten and, when I first got the book, I didn’t have a clue where to get vital wheat gluten from; I thought it was some strange substance only to be found in America.
UK suppliers soon caught up though and now, although I’ve never seen any in any shops, vital wheat gluten (sometimes just called wheat gluten) is easy enough and cheap enough to buy online from a number of places.
The other day, I fancied making some seitan and had a look in Veganomicon for a recipe and saw the famous recipe for chickpea cutlets and decided to give them a go.
At the risk of sounding like a letter on Points of View (ask your parents, kids), why oh why oh why did I leave it so long to make them? They’re a lot simpler than seitan and ready to eat in about 30 minutes.
If you want Isa’s original recipe, it’s here on the PPK website but, as usual, I omitted ingredients I didn’t have; using other ingredients instead and, instead of baking or frying, I put the chickpea cutlets in my George Foreman, which worked wonderfully.
I suggest making a double batch and freezing the leftover uncooked cutlets to have another day. As you can see from the photos, I’ve had the cutlets in pitta bread with salad and vegan mayo but I can confirm they go just as well with potatoes and green veg.
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1 cup golden breadcrumbs
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
- In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas with the oil with a potato masher or fork until no whole chickpeas are left. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead for a few minutes until strings of gluten have formed.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces and form into patties.
- Fry in a little olive oil for 6 to 7 minutes each side, bake in the oven at 180C for 30 minutes, or grill in a George Foreman for about 10 minutes.