Veggie Burgers, version 2

Nothing really takes the place of a good beef burger, but I do really enjoy a good veggie or turkey burger. Over the years I've experimented with making my own veggie burgers with varying degrees of success. Last summer I made a batch that both tasted pretty good and didn't completely fall apart on me. This is my second version of the recipe, where I tried to refine the flavor and texture.


Ingredients

• 2-3 cups brown rice (I used a mixture of Kashi Pilaf and brown sushi rice)
• 4 oz of mushrooms
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 carrot
• 1 can of legumes (I used dark red kidney beans)
• 1/2 a medium onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup of bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1 hot red pepper
• 3 tablespoons of ketchup
• 2 tablespoons of worcester sauce
• 1 tablespoon of mustard
• hot sauce
• paprika, chili powder, salt, black pepper

I cooked up the brown rice (actually a blend of the pilaf and brown sushi rice). I chopped up the mushrooms, onion, carrots, and zucchini in my food processor. I sauteed the garlic and hot pepper in a little oil and added the rest of the veggies with a pinch of salt. When the veggies were soft, I added the ketchup, mustard, and a few dashes of hot sauce. I seasoned this lightly with a little black pepper, chili powder, and paprika. It's important to cook off as much of the liquid as you can otherwise the burger will fall apart.

I pureed the legumes in the food processor and added them to the veggies. I transfered this to a bowl, added the worcester sauce and grated parmesan. I added rice until the mixture had a good consistency (I didn't add all the rice I cooked, just enough until it seemed right...use your own discretion herE), then added salt and pepper to taste. After the mixture cooled a little I added the egg (I added 1 egg in this batch but two would probably work better) and mixed well.

I also added some pea, potato, and spirulina protein powder I had, about 1/4 cup. It didn't impact the flavor much in the cooked patty.

I covered a baking sheet in foil and sprayed it liberally with cooking spray (don't skimp otherwise they will really stick). I made a little ring mold and spooned out about an 1/8 of the mixture into each patty. I baked for about 30-35 minutes at 375°F. I decided the patties were done when they had a nice crust to the outside and were on the verge of starting to burn. My cookie spatula worked well for freeing them from the foil. This makes about 8 patties

I topped mine with cheese, avocado, Morningstar soy bacon, a pickle, lettuce, and salsa and ate it on some multigrain bread. My roommate had one and said they tasted closer to a real burger than any other veggie burger he has had. Next time, I may try adding a small amount of textured soy protein to round out the texture a little more. Obviously, I could add more/different veggies, like peppers and/or potatoes (and probably will). This whole batch was pretty cheap to make too, about half the price of buying veggie burgers (and I get to include a lot more veggies).