Saturday, April 5, 2014

Garlic-and-Shots-Veggie-Burger


A veggie burger is definitely one of my favorite treats. I just love the combination of a beany or lentily patty with mayo, mustard, lettuce and red onion inside a bun with a side of oven-baked sweet potato fries. And it's so flexible - you can use whatever bean or lentil you like, add whatever extras you like, maybe some crunch with pumpkin or sunflower seeds, for example? Plus there are so many different kinds of veggie burgers out there: all bean, bean/lentil/grain combos, lentil combos, some with mushrooms or beets, some with just chickpeas, some that are breaded, some that are fried... you get the idea!

This recipe is inspired by my absolute favorite veggie burger from Bröderna Olssons Garlic and Shots here in Stockholm. First, they use multiple beans and chickpeas in their patty, which is firm and slightly chewy and chock full of flavor. Then they use a homemade burger bun, lots of coleslaw, mayo, red onions, pickles and romaine lettuce with a lot of crispy fries. What's more is that they offer about six condiments -- ketchup, mustard, and four different hot sauces. And it creates the ideal burger experience -- I highly recommend going there! My husband also really loves their 5-bean chili.

I confess that a little pet-peeve of mine with most of the veggie burger recipes on the internet is egg. That's because egg -- the thing that binds a patty together -- includes a protein compound phosvitin that binds with iron and thus prevents iron from being absorbed in the body. So if you're thinking of getting iron from your bean or lentil burger, consider skipping the egg. Honestly, I've experimented with a lot of other binders and they aren't as effective as egg; but I rather have a delicate burger than an eggy patty -- the choice is yours. If you do add egg to your burger mixture, it will become more wet, so you would need to compensate with adding more breadcrumbs. In any case, I think breadcrumbs on their own are a good binder, and flax or chia seed "eggs" are ok binders. Simply refrigerating the mixture before cooking does help the patty hold together better. 

So if you decide to try my simple veggie burger recipe instead of the millions of others on the internet -- I thank you! You'll enjoy this -- just look -- you have a fresh burger bun, homemade milk mayo with less cholesterol than regular mayo, your own coleslaw, a flavorful patty and some sweet potato oven-fries high in vitamin A. It's most enjoyable and could get you excited about veggie burger nights as it does us. 

A Garlic-and-Shots Veggie Burger
Makes 6 patties

2 tsp oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp smoked paprika powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 cups (240g) black beans, cooked
2 cups (280g) chickpeas, cooked
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbs nutritional yeast (optional)
Salt and pepper
Canola or coconut oil for pan-frying

Coleslaw:
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper

Additions:
Romaine lettuce leaves
Red onion slices
Mustard
Ketchup 
Pickles
1. In a hot pan, add oil and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in the cumin powder, smoked paprika and chili powder and then turn off the heat. 

2. In a large bowl, mash black beans and chickpeas with a fork, leaving some beans whole for texture. Then add the onion and garlic mixture, along with nutritional yeast, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Mix all, taste for seasoning, and chill for 30 minutes. 

3. In the mean time, make the coleslaw: Add mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, cabbage, carrots, onion, salt and pepper and mix well. 

4. Take about 1/2 cup of the chilled bean mixture and form into patties. In a large pan, pan-fry on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. 

5. Assembly: Slice a burger bun and add mayo, mustard, romaine lettuce, red onion, a patty, and top with coleslaw. Enjoy with sweet potato fries and pickles. Yum! 

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