Recipe: Veggie Burgers

Getting my meat and potatoes man to eat a Veggie Burger was no small feat.. I mentioned them a couple of years ago and got a wrinkled up nose… so I moved on. I had bigger fish to fry or should I say “not fry”… trying to eat healthier… non-fat milk… yogurt… more baked than skillet fried meals… and the ultimate achievement… drum roll please…. getting him to actually like lower fat ice cream…

Back to that Veggie Burger… I’d bring the subject up here and there.. and finally decided to take the plunge… I settled on a recipe by Guy from the Food Network.. it got a lot of rave reviews.. so I figured.. why not?

It wasn’t too bad… it had a few issues.. so to speak… he used rolled oats in the recipe.. which I did.. not a good decision… too crunchy… he had a lot of spices.. some a little conflicting.. again.. not a good choice…

His quantities had some issues too… in the video he talks about cups.. ¾ cup etc… in the written recipe it lists ounces…

So it needed a little work..

TIPS

As I mentioned.. this recipe is a slightly adapted from Guy’s recipe.. if you want the original version.. click here.

Just a side note here.. one of the reviewer’s of the video commented that it looked like he used quantities greater than the recipe.. and I agree… so I’m probably not too far off the mark with my changes.

I replaced the rolled oats by adding more breadcrumbs.

I omitted the egg.. it really wasn’t necessary… never missed it.

He added a few more spices.. I added more of the ones I left in.

You can use either black beans, white beans (northern or navy), chickpeas or even kidney beans … all or a combination… I like chickpeas.. but wasn’t crazy about them with the black and white beans… my suggestion is to pick two… first, there’s less waste and second, the flavor combinations work better.

Definitely mash the beans… I can’t stress it enough… otherwise the patties will fall apart. I used a potato masher… I mashed them pretty well but left some bean pieces to give it texture.

I added far more of the strong flavored vegetables.. I also used more beans than he did…

My version made 5 good sized patties.

I served them on a bun with lettuce and tomato and a garlic mayo… we really liked the garlic mayo with this.

Here's a link to my Quick Garlic Mayo or you can make Roasted Garlic Mayo, which is also excellent with this.

Try this.. it’s loaded with all things good for you.. lots of healthy protein and fiber… not to mention flavor!






Recipe: Veggie Burgers

All you need:

3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup diced red onion
1 small can sliced olives, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
2 large garlic cloves, finely diced
3 artichoke hearts, chopped
3 cups beans (any combo of white, black, kidney or chick peas)*see Tips
½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon Hungarian Paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Olive oil for frying
Buns
Garlic mayo
Lettuce and tomato

All you have to do:

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the red onions, red pepper, jalapeno pepper, and artichoke. Saute for about 2 minutes, then add the chopped garlic. Continue cooking until the onions are translucent. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, mash the beans until fairly smooth but with some lumps for texture.
Add the cooled vegetables to the beans and add remaining ingredients. Just scrape them all in, including what little oil is in the pan, this will help bind your burger.

Mix well . Form patties and refrigerate until ready to fry.

When ready to fry, add several “swiggles” (you like that word?) of olive oil… just enough to cover the bottom of the large skillet. Heat over medium high heat,, then add the veggie patties and cook until crispy on both sides.

Serve on buns with lettuce, tomato and garlic mayo.