I stated doing my research last night, and wow, it was so much fun to see how many different ways you can make a veggie burger! Here are some of my favorites from the search:
The quinoa zucchini burger from Food52, which I mention above.
The ultimate veggie burger from 101cookbooks.
Adrianna‘s irresistible veggie burger.
And, Oh She Glows, veggie burger.
Now, for those of you who know me, you may know that I’m not much of a recipe follower, but that I prefer to get inspiration from recipes. So, I decided to make a combination of the lot. I also wanted to use eggs, rather than the flax meal egg substitute, but if you are vegan, please do feel free to skip the eggs.
Admittedly, I got a little over excited about the eggs and used 2, which made the batter a little too wet. The bonus was that I got to squeeze out the excess liquid from the batter, which I cooked into a delicious version of scrambled eggs! Who knew! I also ended up adding almond meal to the batter to help dry it out – that stuff is so versatile!
Additional note: I tried to fry the patties in some olive oil, and they fell apart (still delicious!), so I baked them and then sauteed them. Feel free to bake and eat as is, or bake and then saute.
Here’s the recipe, hope you enjoy!
Samantha’s Veggie Burgers
1 zucchini, grated
1 carrot, grated
1/2 red onion, diced (or minced in food processor)
1/2 yellow onion,
2 stalks of celery, sliced thin
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (I used roasted, you can use raw)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup black beans
3 cloves roasted garlic
2 eggs (this is how I made it, but I would use 1 eggs next time, or 2 small eggs)
1/2 cup cilantro (rough chop)
3 sprigs of thyme
a dash of cayenne
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup almond meal (this was a quick fix for the excess liquid, only use as needed)
Instructions:
1. Cook quinoa (you can do this the night before)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Grate the zucchini and carrot, put it in a large bowl
4. Dice the onions and celery (or mince them in a food processor)
5. Saute the onions and celery in olive oil until translucent. Add the cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper
6. Put the garlic, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds in the food processor and pulse until broken up (but not dust). Do the same (separately) with the quinoa and black beans (make sure you rinse them first if you are using canned). You want a little texture, but you also want it to stick together.
7. Mix onions, celery, quinoa, black beans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, zucchini, carrot, fresh herbs, and lemon juice in a bowl. Taste it and adjust the seasoning as you see fit.
8. Whisk together your eggs or flax eggs and pour the egg mixture into the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
9. Start forming patties by pressing a ball of the ingredients into your hand. If it’s too wet, you can squeeze out some of the liquid and/or add some almond meal to the batter (or flour if you can eat gluten).
10. Put the patties on a baking sheet and make for 20 minutes on each side (40 min total).
Once the patties are cooked, you can eat them as is or you can saute them in some olive oil for a crisper feel.
