Curried Eggplant Garbanzo Bean Burgers

I love this recipe! I served it with home-made sweet potato fries and ketchup. The Vegan Gourmet suggests serving with mango chutney.

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
2 teaspoons raw sesame seeds
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup minced onion
2 tablespoons minced celery
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 cup freshly cooked or canned garbanzo beans, drained
1 1/4 cups coarse dry bread crumbs (gluten-free)
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated or minced lemon peel
pinch cayenne

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Cut the eggplant crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices on a steamer rack in a large saucepan over 2 inches of water. Cover, turn heat to medium-high, and steam 5-10 minutes, until the eggplant is quite soft.

Meanwhile toast sesame seeds and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, parsley, garlic, and curry powder and sauté for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add 2 tablespoons water. Stir around quickly and set aside.

When eggplant is done, combine it with the garbanzo beans in a food processor. Pulse a few times to create a fairly coarse puree. Place in a bowl and add the sauteed vegetables, bread crumbs, sesame seeds, soy sauce, lemon peel, and cayenne. Stir until mixture is thick and well combined.

Oil baking sheet. Form mixture into even-sized patties. If you are not serving 8 burgers, uncooked patties can be frozen between layers of waxed paper, simply defrost before cooking. Place the patties on the oiled baking sheet and bake 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned on top.

recipe from: The Vegan Gourmet