Veggie Burger Approaches and Recipes

[Suvir Saran]

I'm sure acceptable falafel/flour-based nutless patties can be concocted as well, but I sincerely doubt they match the mighty spinach-nut burger...

I make cashewnut, spinach and potato burgers. They are wonderful.

In fact I am going to be making these for a party I am catering for kids. One of many other dishes.

Nuts are excellent with veggie burgers... I am sorry... How could I have forgotten them.

[nightscotsman]

Count me in as a Boca Burger fan. All the other packaged varieties are too soft and squishy to comfortably eat on a bun, and they often have strong "this is made from dried and processed veggies and not an animal product" flavors. With Boca I can almost make myself forget it's not a real burger. Almost.

However, if it doesn't have to look or tast like ground beef I would go with a grilled portabella mushroom, maybe with some pesto and tomatoes.

[Fat Guy]

I still haven't worked up the nerve to try a Boca Burger, but I'll get there eventually. My advance team, a/k/a my wife, has sampled several and reports them inoffensive when concealed with numerous toppings and bread.

In other news, I received in the mail today a review copy of a book from Wiley called The Bold Vegetarian Chef, by someone named Ken Charney. I was just about to throw in on the bonepile because I figured it would be a sucky book (and also because the subtitle is Adventures in Flavor with Soy, Beans, Vegetables, and Grains) but then it hit me that there might be some veggie burger recipes in there. Well, not only are there recipes, there's a whole chapter. Chapter 4 of the book is dedicated to "Burgers, Fritters and Loaves: Stars of Vegetarian Cuisine." It's got a good introductory section with all sorts of theoretical material on creating different kinds of veggie burgers, followed by a number of recipes that look interesting. Worth checking out if you're a veggie burger type of person and happen to be browsing a bookstore anytime soon.

[Jinmyo]

Gah.

Vegetarian cuisine can be wonderful. I've done vegetarian as well as omnivore menus for over thirty years.

But a vegetarian "burger" or "loaf" is at best inoffensive. The setting the stuff is placed in disables it from being interesting and well-nuanced in its own right. They cannot be good because they invite comparisons that should not need to be made. Best to just use a grilled portobello or forget the "burger" and just do the "fixings".

Fritters can be great though. Again, if not put forward as what they are not (like "fried chicken").

[Fat Guy]

You never hear people describe vegetarian food as "Tastes like rattlesnake." Isn't that odd?

[Beachfan]

I find myself called upon to fashion a tasty veggie burger for some friends. I'm totally unfamiliar with this whole area of the food world, but I know some of us have thought about it extensively (as evidenced by the earlier thread on the BK Veggie).

What are the various species of veggie burger?

What's the best general approach?

Any specific recipes or instructions?

When is VB day. We're all on the edge of our seats to see if you can conquer this vegebeast.

[Fat Guy]

The quest has taken on a life of its own.

[helenas]

The revived magazine Eating Well has an article on this subject. I haven't tried the recipes, but they really sound delicious.

[Fat Guy]

Here's one of the recipes, at least:

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/Pecan%20...m%20Burgers.htm

Too bad the Web site does nothing to convince me to buy the magazine. Put some real content on there, people, and you may increase your relevance enough to be taken seriously.

[Fat Guy]

I'd like to create a good vegetarian burger from scratch. I'm not happy with any of the commercially available products. Ideally, the burger I'd make would have the following attributes:

1) Not based on starch (such as rice);

2) Low fat (a minimum of eggs, cheese, oil);

3) Not trying to look or taste like meat; and

4) Able to be pre-made and stored in the freezer.

Can you help? I'm interested not so much in a recipe as in an approach to thinking about veggie burgers. Also how do you recommend cooking and serving them?

[menton1]

This one looks very interesting, FG. If you make it, let us know how it turned out!!

http://yumfood.net/recipes/veggieburgers.html

[cookasia]

FG: You're closer than you think to a great veggie burger, and if you don't mind pureeing black or fava beans (a snap in a food processor or blender) and using various binding agents like eggs, bread crumbs, flour and/or brown rice, you've got yourself a tasty "burger" minus the meat. Also consider cooked wild rice held together with eggs, ricotta, and for crunch, oat bran, plus seasoning to taste with any of the above combinations. Shape the ingredients, cook them (saute in minimal oil), then wrap and freeze, and you've got a handy meal on a bun ready for warming, plus all the trimmings. The real trick is using the right medium to bind all ingredients together. Good luck! Thanks, Alexandra

[matt_smith]

Did a pretty thorough forum search, and determined a few things:

1) Many members on the board do not consider veggie burgers to be real food in any sense.

2) Many others do, and seem to have excellent ways of preparing them that I would like to try.

3) Most of those from 2) haven't posted specific recipes.

I say this only because I'm trying my hand at a variety of methods at home and have reached a point where I need some new direction. I find the sheer possibility of ingredients and options for this particular dish delightful, but I've also learned that precise amounts and directions can make the difference between veggie burger bliss and unappealing mush.

So, those of you who make, partake, or enjoy, any good recipes to share?

(Note: If you think veggie burgers are sacriledge, I both apologize and offer to take you to a great little spot called Northstar Cafe the next time you're in Columbus in an effort to prove you wrong. The Vegetarian 'Northstar' burger there is head and shoulders above all but the best burgers I've had the pleasure of eating, meat included)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Here are some Award-winning veggie burgers ... and these recipes seem to take the entire business quite seriously.

[beccaboo]

Here's a nice beet burger recipe.

[merstar]

Here's an excellent recipe with black beans. I've made it many times with a few tweaks:

Black Bean Patties With Cilantro and Lime

http://food.cookinglight.com/cooking/recip...ecipe_id=665259

Haven't tried this one yet, but it sounds good, and has gotten great reviews:

Carrot Burgers

http://www.recipezaar.com/149006

Edited October 28, 2006 by merstar (log)

[doctortim]

I remember being in your position a few months ago, searching here for good veggie burger recipes and being surprised at how intensely hated they were by some people. I used a recipe from "delicious" magazine here in Australia which with a few tweaks has served me well. Here's what I do:

Ingredients:

1 carrot

2 zucchinis

1 brown onion

1 large clove of garlic

1/4 cup coriander

3 tbs crunchy peanut butter

3 tsp curry paste

~150g wholemeal bread... a bit stale, or dry it out in a warm oven.

1 can (~400g) of chickpeas, drained

Flour

Milk

Olive oil

How to make it:

1. Dice the onion. Grate the carrot and zucchini. Sauté them all in a hot pan with a tiny bit of olive oil and some salt. The aim isn't to sweat them but make them just a little tender and colour them. About 2 minutes before they're done, mince the garlic and add that to the veggies.

2. Tear up the bread into small pieces, and whizz in a food processor to make bread crumbs. Add the curry paste, peanut butter, chick peas, coriander, a little salt and pepper, and process until combined. There's no need to process the hell out of it, you just want to combine it all evenly.

3. Combine the veggies and the processed curry/bread/chickpea mix in a bowl. Add enough milk and flour to get everything to stick together. Getting them to stay together can be a real pain... it's really just trial and error until you find the right consistency.

4. Shape into 1.5-2cm burgers, and put in the fridge for at least an hour. Putting them in the fridge will really help them stay together.

5. To cook them, fry in a hot pan with some olive oil, about 4 minutes a side. Enjoy!

The key is to keep everything as dry as possible. For the vegetables, don't be tempted to chop them in a food processor, or they'll turn to mush which is both unappealing and way too wet to handle when you're shaping the burgers. When you're sautéing the vegetables, don't pile up the pan or they'll sweat too much. Cook in batches if you need to so they all get nicely coloured and stay dry. It sounds like a lot of fussing around, but really the whole thing's not difficult to put together.

[ninetofive]

I love veggie burgers and I just started testing a bunch of recipes to find some to get me through the winter. Last night I made the Outrageously Good Pan Crisped Millet Vegetable Cakes from Crescent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian, substituting pintos for butter beans. Very nice, although next time I'll add more garlic cloves (I used only two, versus the three to five recommended). Obviously they include the millet, plus carrot, beet, tahini, tamari, lemon juice, and s&p.

[matt_smith]

nice to know i'm not the only one out there that enjoys these.

thanks for the great recipes! the black bean with cilantro and line looks great...

[A Patric]

Though I love regular burgers, and almost always like them better than veggie burgers, I've come to find that I also really love some type of veggie burgers.

The problem with veggie burgers is that some are absolutely horrible, and they ruin it for people who never get around to trying the good ones.

Personally, I've tried making veggie burgers only twice before, and both times wasn't happy with them. They were kind of dry and starchy.

I'll keep my eye on this thread for good ideas though.

[A Patric]

Just found this thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=15783

might be of interest regarding veggie burger "theory," though the thread is pretty short.

Edited October 29, 2006 by A Patric (log)

[ludja]

I like to make risotto cakes for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

The variety is endless as you can start with any vegetable-based risotto. You can add an egg or not to the chilled risotto before forming the cakes, then coat them with dried bread crumbs and pan brown. They are nice to serve surrounded by a vegetable ragout or sauce. The parmigiano or other dried cheese in the risotto adds a nice savory note..

Some of my favorite combos:

tomato risotto cakes served with a sauteed mixture of zucchini, onins, carrots, etc. (for a not completely veg version you can add some pancetta to the sautee mix) Fennel is a nice vegetable to feature in the cake or accompanying vegetables also as it is a great complement to tomato.

lemon risotto cakes served with a mushroom or artichoke ragout or asparagus saute.

I've made a risotto-like dish with pearl barley as well. These might be interesting to serve in cake form also and serve with a mushroom sauce.

My mom just told me about some great potato dumplings she had in Austria that after boiling were dried, coated with finely ground almonds and pan browned. I'm thinking these could be interesting as a main course "veggie burger" if they were made a little bigger and served with an appropriate sauce/veg saute. This is moving into "croguette" territory but perhaps suggests another approach toward a veggie burger type entree.

[Philanthrophobe]

I like to make risotto cakes for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

The variety is endless as you can start with any vegetable-based risotto.  You can add an egg or not to the chilled risotto before forming the cakes, then coat them with dried bread crumbs and pan brown.  They are nice to serve surrounded by a vegetable ragout or sauce.  The parmigiano or other dried cheese in the risotto adds a nice savory note..

Some of my favorite combos:

tomato risotto cakes served with a sauteed mixture of zucchini, onins, carrots, etc.  (for a not completely veg version you can add some pancetta to the sautee mix)  Fennel is a nice vegetable to feature in the cake or accompanying vegetables also as it is a great complement to tomato.

lemon risotto cakes served with a mushroom or artichoke ragout or asparagus saute.

I've made a risotto-like dish with pearl barley as well.  These might be interesting to serve in cake form also and serve with a mushroom sauce.

My mom just told me about some great potato dumplings she had in Austria that after boiling were dried, coated with finely ground almonds and pan browned.  I'm thinking these could be interesting as a main course "veggie burger" if they were made a little bigger and served with an appropriate sauce/veg saute.  This is moving into "croguette" territory but perhaps suggests another approach toward a veggie burger type entree.

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I've done risotto with portobello mushrooms; your version(s) sound great! And then there's the falafel route...[Homer Simpson] Ummmmmm....falafel.....[/Homer Simpson]

[matt_smith]

--but back to veggie burgers--I'd love to get my hands on the recipe for the "Northstar Burger." What's on it?

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heh. so would i, believe me. i've bugged the staff there as much as possible about it, but i've only been able to pry out a handful of ingredients and part of the technique. they're remarkably tight-lipped about it.

i can tell from eating it that it's based on rice, beets, and black beans (i think). i also know that it contains chipotle peppers. and i know that they mash the mix into a form to create the "patty," a procedure that might result in it sticking together quite a bit better than most homemade veggie burgers i've had. it has only the slightest mushy quality to it.

more info and some backup for my sweeping assertions here,

here, (scroll down), and the official cafe site (spare though it may be) is here.

[Catherine Iino]

The Cook's Illustrated recipe from a couple (?) of years ago is great--fussbudgety, as always, but delicious.