Vegan bean burgers
G was out on the lake all day with his beloved Isa Lei and I stayed behind to “do my thing”. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure I’d make dinner tonight, I enjoyed reading in the hammock under the blooming wisteria on the south patio and we can aways eat out.
But, it was a beautiful evening and I love to cook and find it easy to put together something quickly. So I was in the mood for a simple patio dinner and what says summer more than a good burger outdoors. I asked G to bring burger buns on his way home, otherwise I had everything I needed in my always overfilled fridge and pantry.
Keeping with the vegan trend in the kitchen I made these burgers without eggs. I always worry about vegan burgers (containing no eggs to bind the mixture) that they may not hold together. But I needn’t have worried about these ones. I cooked some in a skillet and some in the oven, just to see how they would turn out and they all turned out just fine. I think when you use rice in vegan patties it has a good binding effect with the starch. Since I am experimenting with no-oil cooking lately, I made two patties oil free (just leave out the oil).
The recipe made a few good size patties so some will have to go into the freezer. Serve them with the usual fixings and you may want to try this tangy slaw as well – it can be put on top of the burger or served alongside.
A note about spices: I kept the spices fairly mild. Taste the mixture before you cook it. If you need to add anything do it now.
Happy summer. Enjoy.
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked white beans, partially mashed (can use canned)
1 medium onion, chopped, cooked in 2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup bread crumbs plus 1/2 cup crumbs to coat the patties
1/3 cups finely chopped nuts (cashews, walnuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios or a mixture)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
A sprinkling of onion and garlic powder, optional
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Tangy slaw (recipe below)
Directions:
Put the beans, cooked onion, bread crumbs, nuts and herbs and spices together in a bowl. Using clean hands or with kitchen gloves mash the mixture together to break down the beans and combine the ingredients.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Make sure you taste the mixture and spice it to suite your palate.
Form the mixture into patties shaping them with your hands.
Lay the patties on the bread crumbs to lightly coat each side.
To cook brush a skillet with a little oil and cook the patties over medium heat until golden. Alternatively place them on a baking sheet and bake in 400°F oven until golden.
Served on grilled buns with fixings of your preference (lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, mayo and the tangy slaw).
Tangy slaw:
4 cups of shredded red and green cabbage and 1 carrot, shredded.
A handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
3 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoon agave syrup
Mix the lime juice and agave until blended.
Drizzle over the vegetables and toss.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
2 Comments
I will be trying these! I love a good vegan or vegetarian burger as much as I like a lamb or beef burger. A good veggie burger can be hard to find. I remember the best I ever had was probably 4 or 5 years ago at the Crispy Coyote (before it changed hands 100+ times and became the now closed Plates) up in Kettle Valley.
It had walnuts in it and held together just like a beef burger. the flavour was unreal. This recipe sounds a lot like what I had! I will publish the results when I try it out. Currently (trying to) avoid burgers until after the wedding lol.
Hi Murissa, great to hear from you. I always worry when I offer these recipes because you have to have a feel for the texture to make sure they turn out. Measuring ingredients is only a part of the game. I always meant to go up to the restaurants in Kettle Valley but never made it there. Let me know how it turned out. I don’t think you need to avoid anything before the wedding, you look great, enjoy.