Roasted Garlic and Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Preheat oven to 375 F. Slice garlic head in half horizontally. Arrange the garlic halves cut side up on a sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and wrap tightly. Roast them in the preheated oven until the garlic is very tender, about 1 hour. Then remove it from the oven and set aside. Let garlic cool, then squeeze the cloves out of their skins and set the garlic aside.

Fill a medium-sized saucepan with about 1 1/2 cups of water and the wheat berries, cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender and chewy, about 1 hour. If it looks to try, you may want to add a bit more water. But drain off excess water when cooked. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool.

Fit a food processor with the slicing blade. While it’s running feed the raw green beans into the food processor. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Drop green beans from the food processor into the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon and strain out the beans. Submerge beans into a bowl of ice water. Then remove them from the ice water, drain well and let them cool slightly.

In the food processor, puree chickpeas, the roasted garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Stir in the green beans, wheat berries, artichokes, olives, green onions, yogurt, lemon juice, herbs and the cooked quinoa. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat and brush skillet with olive oil. Using lightly moistened hands, form the mixture into eight 3-inch patties. Brush the patties with olive oil, put them into the skillet and cook over high heat until golden on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip the patties and top each with a slice of cheese. Reduce heat to moderate, cover and cook until the patties are heated through and golden on the bottom and the cheese is melted. Set the burgers on the buns and top with sun-dried tomatoes and lettuce.

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine August 2013.