In their amazing new cookbook Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero state that they think the following recipe will take over food blogs worldwide. And I think they're right. We tried it for the first time tonight and it was absolutely freakin' bloody amazing. Seriously. I made four cutlets for $1.00 or less. How can you beat this? They made excellent "chicken fried steaks", but I agree with the authors that this is a versatile recipe and could be used for sandwiches or with several sauces... I made mushroom gravy (vegetable broth, rice flour (for Rice), mushrooms, pepper, thyme...).

Makes 4 cutlets, takes about 10 minutes

1 cup cooked chickpeas (I used canned)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup vital wheat gluten
½ cup plain bread crumbs
¼ cup vegetable broth or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated
½ tsp. lemon zest
½ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp sage

In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the oil until no whole chickpeas are left. Add the remaining ingredients and knead for about three minutes, until strings of gluten have formed.

Preheat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, divide the cutlet dough into four equal pieces. To form the cutlets, knead each piece in your hand for a few moments and then flatten and stretch each one into a roughly 6x4 cutlet shape. The easiest way to do this is to first form a rectangular shape in your hands and then place the cutlets on a clean surface to flatten and stretch them.

Add a moderately thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minutes. Add more oil, if needed, when you flip the cutlets. (I did need to use a lot of olive oil for these.) They’re ready when lightly browned and firm to the touch.

These can also be baked, which results in a toothsome chewy texture and firm bite. Preheat oven to 375 degree oven, lightly oil baking sheet. Brush both sides of each patty with olive oil, place on baking sheet and bake for twenty minutes. Flip patties and bake another 8 to 10 minutes until firm and golden-brown.


Amazing. Seriously.