For those of you who have been reading My Persian Kitchen for a while, you may remember me mentioning that I used to be a pesco-vegetarian during a two year period in my life. During this time I really, really, really missed Persian Kotlet and Kabobs. More than anything some days I missed the texture of ground beef whether it be in tacos or in an Italian meat sauce. One day I actually made Kotlet with the fake ground meat stuff. While the result was not bad, and it took care of the texture issue that I missed, the truth was that when I looked at the ingredients I had no idea what that “fake meat” was made of.

I few years ago I developed a Vegetarian Kotlet recipe for my vegetarian readers. It took a few tries. While the taste is delicious, the patties are a bit delicate to handle and can fall apart easily. I was recently given the opportunity to develop a recipe with MorningStar Farms products and as soon as the opportunity came up, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. The reason I like MorningStar Farms products is because when I look at the ingredients list, I recognize the words; most importantly the first ingredients listed are not preservatives but actual food items.

MorningStar Farms has over 30 products and the opportunities are endless when it comes to incorporating them in your everyday life or creating your recipe. It doesn’t matter if you are a vegetarian or choose to go meatless every so often; there is always a choice! Two products stood out the most to me when I was brainstorming my recipe: the Mediterranean Chickpea Burger and the Roasted Garlic & Quinoa Burger. 

Making these Kotlet took a lot less than I expected and the overall winner taste wise was the Mediterranean Chickpea Burger. The Sous Chef was super happy to have something different as well. I also shared some of the Kotlet with my friend Kumar who is a vegetarian. If you are a vegetarian or not, it doesn’t really matter with this recipe, because it’s so tasty that you won’t miss the meat, at all!! The best thing is that nutrition-wise you are still getting a good amount of protein instead of an overload of carbs!

Besides posting this delicious recipe, I am also sharing an opportunity to win a $100 Visa gift card. Rules and regulations are at the bottom of this post.

This recipe is pretty versatile so you can easily substitute any of the MorningStar Farms burger patties for the one featured in this post.

Recipe:

1lb potatoes

1 package MorningStar Farms Mediterranean Chickpea Burger

2 eegs

1tsp advieh

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 cup grape seed oil 

salt & pepper

Cook potatoes then using a food mill, rice potatoes. 

Remove MorningStar Farms patties from the freezer and allow to sit out while prepping the next steps.

Beat eggs with 1 teaspoon of salt, a dash of pepper, and advieh.

Add potatoes to the eggs and mix well.

Crumble the patties with your fingers. It’s best not to use a knife.

Add patties and mix well. The dough should be well incorporated and a little sticky.

Add breadcrumbs to a plate. Take enough dough to create a round ball the size of a plum. Then gently flatten the ball and place it in the breadcrumbs. Gently pat it down and shape it into a pear form. Carefully shake excess breadcrumbs and place the patty on a board.

 

In a non-stick pan add about 3 tablespoons of oil or enough to coat the whole pan. Allow to get warm then add patties making sure not to crowd them. I find that making three at the time works best for me.

Fry patties for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. The best way to figure out when to flip them is to keep an eye on the color. Once it turns golden, then it’s ready for flipping.

 

Once the patties are ready, please them on a plate lined with a paper towel. Continue cooking the rest of the patties. I found that the oil worked perfectly for two batches. After the second batch I simply cleaned the breadcrumbs left behind with a paper towel then added more oil.

Serve Kotlet with sliced tomatoes, Persian pickles, and Sabzi.

To enter the giveaway for a $100 Visa gift card, please answer this question by leaving a comment below:

What is your favorite MorningStar product?

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