Chickpea Cutlets with Mushroom Gravy aka My New Favorite Meal

So I decided to test this recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen website (originally from the Veganomicon) in preparation for Thanksgiving.  Holy moly, it's my new favorite.  Amazing, for real.

Chickpea Cutlets


Ingredients

1 cup of dried chickpeas (yields 2 cups or 16 ounces)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup  whole wheat flour (PPK uses vital wheat gluten)
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (PPK uses sage, I didn't have any)

Vegetable olive oil for pan frying

I always used dried chickpeas, but you could just use 1 16 ounce can of chickpeas.  I soaked the chickpeas for 8 hours.  I tried a new method for preparing them which worked well!  I drained the chickpeas and put them in my crockpot for 1.5 hours on high with 6 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt.  They came out great and didn't take nearly as long as just boiling them.

I drained the chickpeas after cooking and then put them in my food processor with 4 cloves of minced garlic (optional).  I pulsed them a few times.  The goal here is not a smooth paste (like hummus) but rather a chunky base. So don't over do it!

Add ALL of the ingredients, including the ground chickpeas, and knead them together until you have a smooth mixture.  I needed mine about 2-3 minutes.  

You then want to make the mixture into cutlets.  I made small balls and then pat them into cutlet patties.  The PPK recipe then call for you to fry them covered (the steam helps them cook) until golden brown.  I baked mine first for 5 minutes on each side at 450 degrees.

I then put them into the frying pan with some vegetable and fried them for about 2 minutes on each side and dried them on paper towels to get some of the oil out.

Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
2 Tablespoons olive oil
16 oz cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano (PPK uses sage, I didn't have any)
1/2 teaspoons salt
Several dashes fresh black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Savignon Blanc)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

In a bowl, mix the flour with about 2 cups of vegetable broth until well dissolved. Once dissolved, add the remaining broth and mix. Set aside.

Preheat a 2 quart pot over medium heat. Saute the onion in oil for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, sage, salt and pepper and saute for about 5 more minutes.

Add wine and turn heat up to bring to a boil. Let wine reduce for about 3 minutes. Add the broth/flour mix and the nutritional yeast, if using. Lower heat to medium and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring often.  The gravy thickens as it cooks.  To avoid chunks, I whisked it every so often so that it was sooth.  This gravy would rock on mashed potatoes or stuffing too!

I poured the gravy over the cutlets and OMG it is like heaven! I served this with Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and this might be my new favorite meal.  

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I took about 1/2 pound of Brussel Sprouts and removed the stem and yellow leaves.  I then cut them in half and tossed them with some EVOO and some salt and pepper.  I then but them on a baking sheet and baked them for 25 minutes at 450 degrees.  It is really important to shake them (move them around) several times during the baking process so that they don't burn.

So easy and so delicious.  Now I can't hardly wait for Thanksgiving!