Burger Madness (Vegan)

Summertime finds a certain amount of burger madness chez Susan.  I thought that a post featuring various vegan burgers would be fun and might provide you with some new avenues to explore.

There are many options for the base for a good vegan burger:  beans (including tofu), grains, mushrooms, etc.  Here are three of my current favorites.

Umami Mushroom Burger

 

I adapted this from a recipe found here.  I made a few changes to the recipe to improve its nutritional profile.  I altered the recipe by reducing the sodium (used half the called-for Tamari and used low sodium soy sauce instead, plus used only 1 of the 2 tsp of Worcesterhire sauce). I also didn't use the grapeseed oil. I water sauteed the shallots and garlic and only used a light spray of olive oil spray in the pan when cooking the burgers.

I didn't use parmesan cheese, of course. I substituted 2 TBSP of nutritional yeast. I used raw cashews, untoasted. I substituted rolled oats for the whole wheat flour, and pulsed the oats in the dry container of my Vita-Mix to make them more flour-like in consistency.

I saved the soaking water from rehydrating the porcinis and then used that liquid to moisten the burgers a bit while I was incorporating the oats. And I left them in the fridge for a good 45 min. before cooking.

Roasted Beet Tofu Burgers



These vibrant-looking burgers are from a recipe on fatfreevegan.  I've made them a few times and always enjoy them.  They are a more delicate burger so probably wouldn't be able to stand up to grilling, but when baked they are great.  If you wanted them sturdier, you could add some oat or whole wheat flour.

Lynne's Black Bean Burgers

I also really like a black bean burger recipe developed by Lynne, a member of Dr. Joel Fuhrman's member support forum.  Lynne uses black beans, very finely shredded carrots, and brown rice as the base of her burgers.  I served them on top of a grilled portobello mushroom, then topped with:  grilled onions, roasted red peppers, 1 TBSP low sodium salsa, and a dab of Dijon mustard.



Black Bean Burgers
by Lynne Murray

1 lb dried black beans, cooked (on the soft side)
1 medium onion, minced
1 large red pepper, minced
1 Tablespoon dried basil (Lynne uses Penzey?s and so do I!)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
4 carrots, peeled and shredded very fine on a box cutter
� to � cup pre cooked brown rice

Water saut� onion and red pepper and garlic. Once starting to get soft, add basil. After several minutes add carrots ? they don?t need much cooking. Mash the beans with a potato masher until partially mashed. Mix in veggies and brown rice. Form into ball form, about the size of a small burger. Put on a plate, or plates, cover with plastic wrap and chill. Once chilled you can press into patty form.  Lynne cooks hers in her toaster oven on broil. Broil just enough to get hot through and a bit crispy on the outside without browning.

Source: http://blog.susanscooking.com/2011/07/24/burger-madness-vegan.aspx?ref=rss

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