Chickpea Mediterranean Style Burgers

I'm still on a healthy dinner kick. Thanks to finally having a tiny food processor, I feel I can cook a lot more now. I really recommend purchasing a small food processor if you're only cooking dinners for two on a regular basis.

I recently decided to veer into Mediterranean territory and made a vegetarian burger using chickpeas. Instead of using a hamburger bun, which adds too many calories, I used half of a whole wheat pita pocket. For the sauce, I used non-fat greek yogurt. This ended up being a tasty and easy recipe. Seriously, how did vegetarians get by without non-fat greek yogurt?

Chickpea Mediterranean Style Burgers

Ingredients:

Burgers:
1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 scallions, trimmed and sliced
1 egg
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tbsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 1/2 whole wheat pita pockets
1/2 cup lettuce or greens, chopped
1 tomato, cut into slices

Sauce:
1/2 cup fat free greek yogurt
2 tbsp. tahini
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika

Method:

Step 1: Blend chickpeas, scallions, egg, flour, and burger spices in food processor until just smooth
Step 2: Form mixture into 3 round patties with wet hands and place in refrigerator for a few hours to make easier to handle.
Step 3: Blend all sauce ingredients together
Step 4: Heat pan on stove on medium high heat and add olive oil
Step 5: Add patties to pan and cook 4 minutes on each side
Step 6: Place one patty, tomatoes and lettuce in a pita, then add sauce and enjoy!