Chickpea "Chicken" Roast

Although it's vegetarian, this Chickpea "Chicken" Roast reminds me of the taste of Christmas turkey.  Serve hot or cold and makes a great sandwich.

I always have cans of chickpeas on hand.  People give them to me because they don't know what to do with them or are too lazy tired to make hummus, ha, ha.  We put them in soup or sprinkle them over salads but sometimes I do end up with too many cans of chickpeas so I'm always looking for new ways to use them.

The other day I went to the pantry to get  a can of lentils to make Mom's Quick Lentil Roast and found, to my dismay, I was out of canned lentils.  As I was too lazy, tired to cook lentils I grabbed a can of chickpeas and said aloud, "Well, I guess one bean will have to be as good as another."  I smashed up the chickpeas and made the roast using the chickpeas and it turned out tasting pretty good, if not a bit dry.  So I made it again a few times, adjusting and adding a few ingredients, until I came up with what I consider a very good vegetarian roast to serve with a hot meal or with cold salads.  Last night I had the remains of the roast in a sandwich with mayonnaise and cranberry sauce and, even though it's June, it reminded me of my childhood on Christmas night when we'd have cold turkey sandwiches for supper.  So you can be sure I'll be making this during the Christmas season to recreate those childhood memories.

I've added the option to use sage for people who's memories include sage with chicken or turkey. Sage is certainly not in my memory bank, ha, ha.

Printable recipe at end of post.

Chickpea "Chicken" Roast

• 1 can chickpeas, half drained
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs OR ½ cup cracker crumbs
• 3 eggs
• ⅓ cup any kind nuts, finely chopped or blended
• 1 medium onion, diced small
• 1 stalk celery, diced small
• 2 tablespoons oil
• ½ cup any kind cheese, grated (I use cheddar)
• 1 teaspoon savoury or sage (more or less to taste)
• 1 teaspoon chicken seasoning with salt
• ⅛  teaspoon garlic powder

How to make it:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees if you oven is hot).  Grease or spray a 2 litre/quart baking dish.

Using a food processor, grind chickpeas and about half the liquid in the can until broken up but not a paste.  The mixture should be chunky.

In a small pan sauté diced onion and celery in oil until just soft.  In a large bowl mix all remaining ingredients with the chickpeas, cooked onion and celery.  Cover dish with foil wrap and bake covered in prepared dish for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking an additional 10 minutes.

Serve hot or cold with cranberry sauce or jelly. Makes an excellent sandwich!

Makes 6-8 servings.

Grind the chickpeas with some of the can liquid until broken but not gone to a paste. 

 Sauté the onions and celery in the oil until soft but not browned.

Add the cooked vegetables to the remaining ingredients.

Mix everything until well combined.

Spread the mixture in a greased 2 litre baking dish.

Cover dish with foil wrap and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Baked and out of the oven. 

Chickpea "Chicken" Roast is delicious with cranberry sauce or jelly.

Serve hot with potatoes and vegetables or cold with salads or slice and use in a sandwich.

To print click on arrow upper right side.⇩