The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Middle Eastern Chickpea Burgers
By Chef Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson

Chef Rebecca Katz teams up with medical journalist Mat Edelson to author her latest cookbook "The Cancer Fighting Kitchen", a practical and "yum" filled repertoire of recipes for the health conscious individual. This book demonstrates the clear ability to make healthful choices while nourishing the recovering body at the same time. Each recipe features nutrient rich ingredients to help recovering cancer patients stimulate their appetite while recovering from treatment. The 150 science based recipes are worthy of any self proclaimed chef and caregiver's effort. I have tried many of these recipes, but I seem to keep coming back to "Middle Eastern Chickpea Burgers", a delicious rendition of the veggie burger, infused with the Mediterranean flavors of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garlic and fresh ginger. The delicate chickpea patty is held together with the blending of basmati rice, forming a complete protein. Found on page 112 of the book, here is my most frequently used recipe for this book:

By Chef Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson

(Excerpted from the Cancer-Fighting Kitchen)
The dollop used in this presentation was Tomato Mint Chutney, also found in the book on p.176.!

Middle Eastern Chickpea Burgers

Ingredients:
2 cups Cooked Chickpeas (or 1 15 oz. can chickpeas rinsed, and mixed with fresh lemon juice and sea salt)
1/2 tspn. Sea Salt
1/2 tspn. Turmeric
1/2 tspn. ppprika
1/2 tspn. Ground Cumin
1/2 tspn. Ground coriander
1/8 tspn. Ground Cinnamon
2 tspn. Ginger (minced)
1 tspn. Fresh Ginger (minced)
3 tbls. EV Olive Oil
2 tbls. Lemon Juice, (freshly squeezed preferred)
2 1/2 cups Cooked Brown Basmati Rice
3 tbls. Red Bell Pepper (finely diced )
1/4 cup Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley (loosely packed minced )

Procedures:
1. Preheat the oven to 375† degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine the chickpeas, salt, turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, olive oil, and lemon juice in a good processor and process until smooth and well combined, scraping the sides occasionally. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and fold in the rice, bell peppers, and parsley.

3. Moisten your hands to keep the mixture from sticking, then shape the mixture into 1/4 " thick patties about 2.5" in diameter. Place them on the prepared pan and bake for 22 - 25 minutes, until the patties start to get dry and crisp on the outside. They will firm up as they cool.

Variations: for a crispy burger, heat 2 tspn. olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the patties for about 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.!