Recipes

The Ultimate Veggie Burger

By: The Local Palate

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The ultimate veggie burger, from Joe Yonan’s cookbook, Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking, Yonan shares his philosophy and best practices. In an age of high-tech products meant to mimic the exact texture and flavor of beef burgers, many of us longtime vegans and vegetarians have missed something: veggie burgers that actually include— and even celebrate—vegetables, legumes, fungi, and other stars of the edible, delicious plant kingdom. I’ve played around with veggie burger recipes for more than a decade, and my favorites are those in which such ingredients play a visible, starring role.

Storage: The cooked burgers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. After baking, you can refrigerate the patties for up to 1 week or freeze in silicone zip-top bags for up to 6 months. Thaw before pan-frying or grilling.

recipe

yields

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion (yellow, white, or red) or shallots
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon spices such as chili powder, cumin, Za’atar, smoked paprika, or curry powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1 pound mushrooms, trimmed and chopped
11/2 cups cooked beans or 1 15-ounce can no-salt-added beans, drained and rinsed
1⁄2 cup nuts, chopped
1 tablespoon liquid aminos, coconut aminos, tamari, or soy sauce
3⁄4 cup flour or chickpea flour
1⁄4 cup nutritional yeast
1 to 2 tablespoons of acids like lime juice, rice vinegar, sherry vinegar, or red vinegar
1⁄4 cup grapeseed, sunflower, or other neutral vegetable oil
6 soft hamburger buns, lightly toasted
Accompaniments: Lettuce, tomato, pickles, sliced onions, and other condiments of your choice

steps

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with compostable parchment paper.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until they are tender and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the spices and salt and cook, stirring, just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms exude their liquid and it evaporates and they start to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, lightly mash the beans with a fork, leaving some whole. When the mushroom mixture has cooled, add it to the bowl, along with the nuts or seeds, aminos, flour, nutritional yeast, and acid and other flavorings and stir to thoroughly combine. The mixture will be very sticky. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Lightly oil a ½-cup (120ml) measure. Scoop 6 heaping portions onto the parchment, then wet your hands and use them to pat and shape the mixture into large patties, about 4 inches (10cm) across and ½ to ¾ inch (1.3cm to 2cm) thick.
Bake the patties until firm and dry on the outside, 20 to 30 minutes, flipping them over about halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium- high heat until it shimmers. Add as many patties as will fit without overcrowding and fry until crisp on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully flip them over and fry until crisp on the other side, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a platter. (Alternatively, you can cook them on a gas or charcoal grill over medium-high heat for about the same timing.)
Build the burgers with your preferred accompaniments and condiments. Serve hot.