Baked Chickpea Cutlets

If you're ever serving meat-eaters who just don't think they like plant-based main dishes, or if you're ever just craving a "meaty" but meat-free dinner yourself, these easy-to-make baked chickpea and quinoa cutlets are just the thing. Solid, substantial, and with the same chewy texture as cooked meat, they're seasoned with garlic, chilies, lemon juice, paprika and dried herbs. They're sure to please vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, and they can be served up in so many ways — as a burger patty with toppings, cut up into pieces and served on salads or as "nuggets" for children, on the side with vegetable dishes, or as they are with your favorite tomato or mushroom sauce — I served them with my classic best-ever mushroom sauce for a filling and delicious meal.

The secret to the "meaty" and chewy texture of these cutlets is the addition of wheat gluten flour to make a elastic dough with the chickpeas and quinoa. Also known as vital wheat gluten, it's the natural protein found in wheat — meaning, of course, that it adds protein to your dishes as well as being a good low-carb source of essential minerals like iron and selenium. When combined with water and cooked, wheat gluten becomes highly elastic and is widely known as seitan, which is often found in vegetarian or vegan Asian restaurants as a substitute for meat proteins. Like firm tofu, but meatier, it has no real flavor of its own so it's perfect for cooking with any flavors or seasonings that you like. It's also commonly added to bread flours to improve texture and elasticity and help your bread rise, or to veggie burgers or meatless meatloaves as a binder. Wheat gluten flour can be found in any health food store or in the baking or health food sections in larger supermarkets.

Baked Chickpea Cutlets

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on January 4, 2021 Simple "meaty" cutlets made with chickpeas, quinoa, wheat gluten and seasonings — perfect for serving with sauces to vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes Print this recipe Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (1/2 cup dried or 1 14 oz can) 1/2 cup cooked quinoa (1/4 cup dried) 2 tablespoons olive oil + more for brushing 2/3 cup wheat gluten flour 1/4 cup bread crumbs 1/4 cup vegetable stock or water 3 tablespoons tamari (soy) sauce 1 medium garlic, minced or crushed 1 to 2 red or green chilies, seeded and minced 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried sage Instructions: In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas and quinoa with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Stir in the wheat gluten, bread crumbs, stock or water, tamari, garlic, chilies, lemon juice, paprika, thyme oregano and sage. Knead this mixture for about 3 to 5 minutes, until strings of gluten begin to form. Preheat an oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly brush with olive oil. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and knead each piece for a few minutes. Form a piece into a rectangular shape, and then flatten and stretch each cutlet into a roughly 6 × 4 inch rectangular shape. Transfer to the prepared pan, and repeat with the remaining dough. If the pieces seem too large, make 8 cutlets instead of 6. Lightly brush each cutlet with more of the olive oil and bake for 20 minutes. Gently flip the cutlets and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot or warm. Refrigerate leftovers and reheat in aluminum foil at 300°F for 10 to 15 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings

Other cutlet recipes from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Baked Paneer and Chickpea Cutlets
Baked Mixed Vegetable Cutlets (Sabji Tikki)
Thai-Style Tempeh Cutlets Audio accompaniment: Songs for an empty world