OK, maybe not impossible. I've blogged at least once about the V'con Chickpea Cutlets. They're possibly one of the greatest creations in food history - a quick, easy, relatively cheap, cruelty free meat substitute that tastes amazing. They're a combination of chickpeas, breadcrumbs, vital wheat gluten, water, herbs, and spices.
The way I do mine, I use my food processor to blend together everything but the breadcrumbs and vwg, and I always think, this is a lot like hummus. Well, I made hummus yesterday, and I made a lot - more than Mike and I could reasonably eat before it would need to be disposed of. Tonight, laziness and curiosity coalesced into an even faster and possibly lower-fat version of Chickpea Cutlets. I combined my homemade sun-dried tomato hummus with vwg and the V'con herbs and spices, and the results were positive. I give you:
Lower-Fat Hummus Cutlets
3/4 c prepared hummus (preferably homemade)
1/2-3/4 c vital wheat gluten
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried sage
Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Add additional vwg if your hummus is particularly liquidy. Knead for a few minutes until gluten strings form. Cut or tear apart and form into cutlets. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake 20-30 minutes, until golden brown. (Mine were slightly underdone at 20 minutes, so a bit longer should've done the trick.)
I don't really have a nutritional breakdown or comparison. I only assume these are slightly healthier because my particular homemade hummus was lower in fat than traditional hummus, and I left out the breadcrumbs (which can contribute significantly to both fat and carbohydrate counts). I guess you could add in some breadcrumbs to make them more stable, but even slightly underdone, mine were fine.
UPDATE: Here's the picture of the cutlets with boiled potatoes, steamed broccoli, and instant gravy
This is a great idea!
ReplyDelete