May 17, 2009

Homemade Veggie Burgers

I'm a big fan of veggie burgers, but I don't lovethe frozen ones - they are so greasy and either laden with peppers or have a horrible after taste or texture.

I like making my own, and realized I just need to get better about taking sundays to make some veggie patties for the week.

I tried this recipe this week from Prevention Magazine's site. They are SO incredibly good. I did have to make some adjustments to make it so they would stand up for a week in the fridge, transport and reheating but they came out awesome! They are NOT spicy - you could certainly add a hotter curry to make it have more kick.

Vegetarian Curry Burgers
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil - used light sesame oil.
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
1 1/2 cups white button mushrooms, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas - went ahead and used the whole can
1 medium carrot, grated (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro - used dried cubes from Knor.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
flour - opted for breadcrumbs because the whole mixture needed to be more firm


Directions
1. In a medium nonstick skillet over mediumhigh heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the onion, curry powder, coriander, and fennel. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes, or until the onion starts to soften. Add the mushrooms. Stir to mix. Cover and cook for about 4 minutes longer, or until the liquid pools in the pan. Uncover and cook for about 3 minutes more, or until the liquid is evaporated.

2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the chickpeas. Pulse until well chopped. (NOTE: I added in the walnuts and cilantro, salt and pepper before I pulsed it - then I blended with the carrots) Transfer to a bowl. Add the carrot, walnuts, cilantro, salt, and pepper and mix well.

3. Lightly dust hands with flour. Shape the mixture into six 4" wide patties. NOTE: Mixture was too gooey to stay together, so I added about a cup of breadcrumbs. This helped firm things up and make it so you could form a nice patty.

4. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Place the patties in the pan. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until browned on the bottom. Flip and cook for about 4 minutes longer, or until heated through. NOTE: I let them cook longer in the skillet on the non stick griddle pan. Then I placed on an air bake baking sheet in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 to help firm them up so they would withstand storage for the week. Came out perfectly and delicious!


2 comments:

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Oh wow - way better than the packaged veggie patties! looks like a great recipe!

Hillary said...

Great idea to make veggie burgers from scratch! For more vegetarian recipes, check out our vegetarian recipe section.