The families from my NCT anti-natal group met this weekend to celebrate all our babies turning one in the next few weeks. We all decided to bring along some food to share for lunch, so I made these bean burger bites. (The recipe is adapted from the Lean for Life cookbook, The Louise Parker Method.) They went down a storm with the babies and the adults - Joshua alone ate 5 (along with the rest of his lunch) and even the more picky babies were fans!
I made them in two sizes - smaller balls for the babies and larger balls for the adults. You could also shape them into burger / patty shapes.
When serving them up to Joshua I often halve or quarter the balls and spread a little humous on them. Ingredients...
one tin of chickpeas, drained
one tin of butterbeans, drained
one slice of bread
one carrot, finely grated
one onion, finely chopped
one egg
50g oats
50g sunflower seeds
zest of one lemon
one tablespoon of tahini
one clove of garlic, chopped
handful of fresh coriander, chopped
two teaspoons of ground cumin
two teaspoons of paprika
half a teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
To make...
blitz the bread in a food processor to make breadcrumbs
place the breadcrumbs in a large bowl
blitz the oats and sunflower seeds together into a coarse crumb, then add to breadcrumbs in the large bowl
blitz the chickpeas, butterbeans, egg, lemon zest, tahini, garlic, cumin, paprika, (and chilli if using) until just combined
add the bean mix to the large bowl
add the onion and carrot, and mix well to combine all ingredients
if required, chill for 10 minutes to allow the mix to firm up
roll into balls, or shape into patties (tip: wet hands will help to stop the mix sticking to you)
place on a greased tray
lightly coat the balls with oil (mist with spray oil, brush with oil or carefully roll the balls in the oil on the tray)
bake in the oven at 240’C for 15-20 until starting to brown
Eat fresh, refrigerate or freeze. Enjoy! x
