While MorningStar is pretty much a staple in my household, it’s always better to eat food that is minimally processed. That is why this veggie burger recipe is great – you see and taste all of the ingredients that go into them. Plus, they taste amazing! The only way to make them more natural would be to make your own beans…and maybe ferment some soy beans to make your own soy sauce…
Ingredients:
•3 cups cooked brown rice
•15 oz. can of black beans
•15 oz. can of red kidney beans
•1 Tbsp unsalted butter
•1 medium cooking onion, finely chopped
•1 medium carrot, shredded
•1 cup breadcrumbs (preferably unseasoned)
•3/4 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
•1/2 cup dried parsley
•4 large eggs, lightly beaten
•1/4 cup soy sauce
•1/4 vegan Worcestershire sauce
•garlic powder
•salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Make brown rice in advance. It works best in this recipe if you let it cool to room temperature or slightly warmer.
2. Rinse and drain the black and kidney beans. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add beans. Cook thoroughly until they are soft and then mash with a wooden spoon.
3. Combine everything on the list from rice to parsley. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
4. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and combine with the soy sauce and vegan Worcestershire sauce. Add to the main mixture and stir until fully incorporated.
5. Form into 1/2-inch thick patties, roughly 4 inches in diameter.
6. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with nonstick cooking spray and cook each patty about 4 minutes per side, until outsides are thoroughly browned and the insides are cooked through.
Recommended Serving Instructions:
Serve however you like to eat your burgers. I enjoy these with homemade guacamole, pepper jack, lettuce, tomato and red onion on sesame buns.
Tips:
•The burgers can tend to be on the fragile side. One thing you can do to help the cooking process is make the patties in advance and chill for 20-30 minutes (or up to 2 hours) before cooking.
•This recipe makes about 1 dozen burgers – way too many burgers for the normal dinner crew. I have found that the burgers last longer if you just cook them all at once and then freeze the leftovers. If you refrigerate the mixture to cook later, it tends to dry out.
•Another option for the excessive veggie burger mixture is to make however many burgers you want and make a vegetarian meatloaf with the rest. Sometimes I make 4 burgers and put the rest in a 2-quart square ceramic baking dish (spray with non-stick spray first). Pack the loaf into the dish and cover in foil. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375º F. After about 20 minutes, remove the foil and cook an additional 5-10 minutes until the top is browned and the inside is cooked through (should be barely moist).
BEETNIK RECIPES: vegetarian cooking 