5:30 challenge -- chickpea burgers

5:30 Challenge

5 ingredients/30 minutes

Tonight’s solution

Chickpea burgers

To make the meal

Toasted English muffins

Lettuce and tomato

I grew up in a household where chickpeas were a staple. We didn’t eat chicken noodle soup, we ate chicken soup with rice and chickpeas. Homemade hummus was on the table at least once a week. Chickpeas could even be a sweet snack when we bought roasted and sugared chickpeas covered in pastel candy coatings (think of Jordan almonds). We ate all these chickpeas because my mom was Syrian, and chickpeas have been a part of the Mediterranean diet for centuries. None of my friends ever ate chickpeas.

Times have changed. Hummus shows up in a lot of lunchboxes, and chickpeas are becoming the legume of choice in many recipes. These vegetarian burgers are a case in point. With no precooking required, you can open a can of chickpeas and have homemade burgers on the table in 15 minutes. If you have time for one more ingredient, a half-teaspoon of cumin is a delicious addition.

Take the 5:30 Challenge. If you have a great-tasting main-dish recipe that uses no more than five ingredients and can be made in 30 minutes or less, tell us. (Salt, pepper, water and oil for greasing a pan don’t need to be included in the ingredient count.) You can also suggest a side dish if it can be made within the same time. Send recipes with your name, address and phone number to fivethirty@ajc.com.

Chickpea burger

Hands on: 15 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

3 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread, divided

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

4 scallions, trimmed

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

1 large egg

Toast one slice of bread. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse toasted bread into crumbs. Put crumbs in a pie pan and set aside.

Return bowl to food processor and add chickpeas, scallions, remaining 2 slices of bread, ginger, 1/2 (half) teaspoon salt and 1/2 (half) teaspoon pepper. Pulse until roughly chopped. Remove half the mixture to a medium bowl.

Add egg to remaining mixture in food processor and process until smooth. Add to reserved mixture in bowl, and mix well.