Anpanman Bean Burger Bento

Anpanman Bean Burger Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Remember the vegetarian run we had last week? It's continuing today with these garbanzo bean - rice burgers I made. I've made black bean burgers before, but they tended to fall apart easily. This recipe uses rice and egg as a binder, and the mashed garbanzos seems to have a stickier consistency. They still don't have as much integrity as a regular ground meat burger, so I'd use care while eating it in a bun, but it held together well enough for our bento. I placed this patty on a layer of curried cauliflower and decorated his face with grape tomatoes, sweet potato and Okinawan sweet potato to look like Anpanman. The fruit side contains all red items: blood (Moro) oranges, grapes and strawberry. So happy with the blood oranges again this season! They're a bit tart, but a nice change from normal oranges. Aren't they beautiful?

Garbanzo Bean (Chickpea) Rice Burgers (adapted from Whole Living recipe)

Ingredients
2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas
1 cup cooked brown rice (I used 2 cups to make it even stickier, and mine was a mix of white, brown and and millet)
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I used cilantro because I love this herb)
Salt and pepper (I used cumin too, because I like this spice)
1 large egg, whisked
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mash chickpeas and brown rice until thick paste forms. Stir in shallot, garlic, and cilantro. Season with salt, pepper and cumin. Stir in egg. Form into four 1/2-inch-thick patties.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.