Delicious Veggie Burger

Well, after the too sweet Brazilian lemonade I made yesterday a vegetarian dinner was calling out to me. I found a vegetarian/vegan burger recipe a few days ago that looked worth trying so that was the recipe I used.

The recipe is posted on the newly found blog, Oh She Glows.

Our Perfect Veggie Burger

Crunchy, chewy, with a crispy outer shell, these delicious veggie burgers have all the right elements we love in a veggie burger. Light on the beans, these burgers aren’t mushy in the middle, but have a nice mixture of breadcrumbs, chopped almonds, sunflower seeds, and seasonings to round them out. Best of all, they work great in the oven, frying pan, or even on the BBQ. They can also be made gluten-free by using gluten-free oats, Tamari, and breadcrumbs. Don’t have breadcrumbs? Just process a few slices of bread in the food processor for instant breadcrumbs. I used 3 slices of Ezekiel bread.
Inspired by Whitewater Cooks.
Yield: 8 burgers
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• Flax eggs: 2.5 tbsp ground flax + 1/2 cup warm water, mixed in bowl
• 1 cup oats, processed into flour* (other flours might work)
• 1.5 cups bread crumbs (I processed 3 pieces of Ezekiel bread until fine crumb)*
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and roughly pureed or mashed
• Heaping 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (or fresh herb of choice)
• 1/3 cup almonds, chopped (toasted if preferred)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, (toasted if preferred)
• 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp Tamari (soy sauce)
• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp kosher salt)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F (if baking). In a large skillet, sauté onions and garlic in 1/2 tbsp oil. Mix your flax egg together in a small bowl and set aside for at least 10 mins while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Place all ingredients (except spices and salt) into a large mixing bowl and stir very well. Now, add seasonings and salt to taste.
3. With slightly wet hands, shape dough into patties. Pack dough tightly as this will help it stick together. I made 8 medium patties.
4. Cooking methods: You can fry the burgers in a bit of oil on a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side. If baking in the oven, bake for 25-30 mins (15-17 minutes on each side) at 350F, until golden and crisp. For the BBQ, pre-bake the burgers for about 15 minutes in oven before placing on a pre-heated grill until golden and crisp on each side. Our preferred method of cooking was frying in the skillet!!
GF Note: To make these burgers gluten-free, use certified GF oats, GF Tamari, and gluten-free breadcrumbs.

The burgers were delicious. They were flavorful and had texture, almost like eating a beef hamburger. I processed the oats in the Vita mixer. Because I didn't want really chunky nuts I measured all the nuts and put them in the Vita mixer also. You have to be careful on how much you mix the nuts in the mixer because it will turn to nut butter quickly. The bread crumbs were also mixed in there, separately. Instead of using flax seeds I used 1 egg. The next time I make them I'll use 2 eggs for just a little more moisture. I cut parsley from the jungle of a garden.

I also added about 1/2 cup of cashews, 1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced, and 2 good sized mushrooms, chopped . The chili powder adds a little heat, especially if you use chipotole chili powder. I used 1/2 tsp. chipotole chili powder and 1 tsp. regular chili powder. The burgers were cooked in a skillet on the stove in a little olive oil and butter.

This is definitely a keeper recipe in this house.

Now, after I wrote this I went and asked 2 daughters that are all out carnivores what they thought of last night's burger.

"I'm sorry Mom, I didn't like them," says K. 

Then I asked H what she thought of them. She didn't like them either. I then asked her what specifically she didn't like about them.

"The looks."

"The texture."

"The taste."

I know the vegetarian daughter loved them. She told me so last night.

I probably won't make these for DH since he's a carnivore loving kind of guy.

So that's the taste test results from this household...which is not vegetarian BTW. Still, the recipe is a keeper and it will appear again on the dinner menu!