Crispy Cutlets

So here is my recipe for Crispy Cutlets.  It is adapted from a recipe for chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon, one of my favorite vegan cookbooks.  I changed a few of the ingredients to make it more to my liking and I made the preparation significantly easier.  The original recipe calls for mashing the chickpeas by hand, which, imho, is very tedious.  So I decided to try to put all the ingredients into a food processor and the end result was really great!  A delicious, crispy cutlet full of protein and flavor.  This recipe makes 12 large cutlets because I like to have them for sandwiches for the kids’ lunches the next day and also just to have as leftovers in the fridge.  They seem to always be there when someone wants a snack.  They also freeze well.  And the best thing is you can prepare them differently every time.  They are shown here with mushroom gravy (and quinoa risotto and lima beans), but just last week I topped them with marinara and some daiya cheese and they made a perfect “chicken” parmesan.  Try them in any recipe that you used to make with chicken – you won’t be disappointed!

•  3 c cooked chickpeas (or 2 boxes of Fig Food Co chickpeas)
• 6 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 c vital wheat gluten (found in health food stores and in the healthy section of many supermarkets
• 1 1/2 c plain bread crumbs
• 3/4 vegetable stock
• 6 T soy sauce
• 6 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 t dried thyme

Process chickpeas and olive oil in food processor.  Add all other ingredients, except bread crumbs and vital wheat gluten.  Process well.  Pour into a large bowl.  Stir in the bread crumbs.  Then using your hands, knead the vital wheat gluten in until it is all incorporated.

Divide into 12 equal pieces.  Flatten each piece with your palm to make a nice, large cutlet shape.  Saute in a nonstick skillet in a small amount of olive oil, until nicely browned on each side.