Swiss Chard Falafel Burger

Swiss Chard Falafel Burger
Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado, Hummus
On a Toasted Ciabatta Roll

Besides the obvious, BLT stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel. This French Chef and his restaurant empire were my inspiration for our monthly Cooking Club challenge to build a sandwich around three ingredients that start with the letters…BLT, other than bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

I did attempt to follow the challenge rules, but my combinations of B, L, and T foods were uninspiring. And I simply cannot share something here on Taste With The Eyes that I don’t consider fabulous in one way or another. So I turned to a cookbook on my shelf BLT Bistro Laurent Tourondel for help. The Chef melds classic French bistro fare with the American steakhouse style. He poetically reinterprets the dishes in an uncomplicated manner with flavor and flair.

The idea for my reinterpreted BLT sandwich comes from a different source however, an item on his menu at restaurant BLT Burger in Las Vegas, called a Veggie Falafel. I had no idea what ingredients were in his falafel, but it was wonderfully green! With lettuce, tomato, avocado, and hummus. So, here I present my version…a Swiss Chard Falafel Burger.

Now, why go through all the trouble to make a superior vegetarian burger then add bacon to the sandwich? Why indeed. Vegetarian friends will love this swiss chard falafel burger, and why not add bacon for my carnivorous friends who believe bacon makes everything better. Which one are you?

The Creative Cooking Crew is a group of 24 innovative food bloggers hosted by Laz of Lazaro Cooks! and Joan of FOODalogue. Each month brings a new culinary challenge with a round-up of all the entries posted at the end of the month. Although there is no real judging and the challenges are all just for fun, we take pride in sharing our entries, pushing our culinary limits.

My apologies to the Club for not following the rules “to the letter.” Please stop by Laz’s blog on April 29th to view all the imaginative interpretations of a BLT sandwich. And be sure to check out the Creative Cooking Crew’s PINTEREST BOARD here for visual inspiration!

• 2 large swiss chard leaves, de-stemmed
• 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed & drained
• small handful each of fresh parsley and dill
• 1/2 medium onion, rough chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. red pepper flakes
• 2 T. panko
• 1 T. flour
• 1 t. baking powder

Cook chard in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Place chard in the bowl of a food processor along with garbanzo beans, herbs, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and red pepper flakes. Process until all the ingredients are blended, but still a bit chunky.

Sprinkle panko, flour, and baking powder over the mixture. Process briefly until the mixture comes together, pulling away from the sides and forming a ball.

Form the dough into patties and fry in canola oil over medium heat until the exterior is browned and crispy, and the interior is hot.

To assemble: brush split ciabatta rolls with olive oil and toast until golden. Spread hummus on the bread. Top the bottom piece with a swiss chard falafel burger. Then layer bacon, tomato, avocado, and green leaf lettuce.

And we served these awesome sandwiches with Samuel Adams Boston Lager Tonight…

*Friends, feel free to share your ideas for a fantastic B-L-T sandwich in the comment section.