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The Really Hungry Burger

Hungry burger

I had a little fight with myself over this recipe. Does a veggie burger have a place in modern vegetarian food? Something about veggie burgers feels a bit ‘nut-roast-at-brightly-painted-café-wearing-hemp- trousers’. However, my love of eating these strode forth so here they are.

I’ve played around with a lot of recipes before settling on this one, some full of bright herb freshness and grated veg, some packed with protein-rich tofu, and all were good, but what I look for in a burger is a deep moreish flavour, savoury and complex, so this is the one.

I use brown rice here, but any cooked grain you have will do – quinoa, pearl barley and farro all work well.

I like to make a quick pickled cucumber to top these with. Thinly slice a quarter of a cucumber and pop it into a bowl with a pinch of salt, a squeeze of honey and a good tablespoon of white wine vinegar, then scrunch together and leave to sit while you make your burgers. A homemade quick pickle that beats a gherkin any day.

Duration
50 mins
Difficulty
Average
Serves
8
Hungry burger

Ingredients

  • olive oil
  • 6 big portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped into little bits
  • a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 × 400g tin of white beans, haricot or cannellini, well drained
  • 4 fat medjool dates, pitted
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • a small bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
  • 200g cooked and cooled brown rice (100g raw weight)
  • 50g breadcrumbs or oats
  • grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

To Serve

  • 1–2 avocados, peeled and sliced tomato relish or ketchup
  • pickled cucumber (see above)
  • a few handfuls of spinach leaves
  • 8 seeded burger buns (I use wholemeal ones)
  1. Cook your mushrooms

    Get a large pan on a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Once the pan is good and hot, add the mushrooms and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Fry on a good heat until the mushrooms have dried out and are slightly browned, then set to one side and leave to cool.

  2. To prep your patties

    Next, drain the white beans and put them into a food processor with the dates, garlic, parsley, tahini and soy sauce. Pulse until you have a smoothish mixture, then transfer to a bowl and add the rice, breadcrumbs, lemon
zest and the cooled mushrooms. Mix well, then put into the fridge for 10 minutes or so to firm up.

  3. Once cooled, divide the mixture into 8 portions and shape into 8 patties. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and pop into the fridge until needed. (This can be done the day before – and the burgers freeze well at this point).

  4. To cook your patties

    Preheat your oven to 230°C/fan 210°C/gas 8 and bake the burgers for
 15 minutes, until nicely brown. If you like cheese on your burger, pop a slice on top a couple of minutes before they come out of the oven.

  5. To prep your toppings

    While your burgers are cooking, get your toppings ready. I go with avocado, tomato relish and the quick cucumber pickle above, plus a few spinach leaves. Hummus, grated carrot and sprouts is another favourite, but feel free to improvise and try it your own way.

  6. Build your burgers

    Once the burgers are golden, toast your buns and layer up your burgers.

Additional information

Storage

Store
In airtight container in fridge for up to 3 days
Freeze
Up to a month

As featured in

Anna jones a modern way to eat book cover

A Modern Way to Eat

"Packed full of delicious, healthy recipes that are quick and easy to make, A Modern Way To Eat is a totally modern take on vegetarian cooking." With over 200 recipes that are as simple to make as they are nourishing, satisfying and truly tasty. Based on how Anna likes to cook and eat every day.

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