The Ultimate Veggie Burger

Makes: 6
Time: 45 mins

The Ultimate Veggie Burger

Since becoming vegetarian over 8 years ago now I've had my fair share of veggie burgers, some good, some not so good, but I can't think of one example when I've eaten a burger and thought, wow this is really great! I never really liked meat, especially red meat before becoming vegetarian so I wasn't looking for texture of real meat, but rather deep flavour that wasn't solely delivered by the addition of tons of overly salted cheese. Since turning vegan burgers are yet another thing I haven't really experimented with, I made some for the other day which were okay, but it got me thinking; how can I make this great? So I started off with a few ideas, constantly coming back to my favourite ingredients and finally decided on four that would make the ultimate plant based veggie burger; mushrooms, sweetcorn, sundried tomatoes and chickpeas; with the addition of onion, garlic and herbs, this burger is one you have to try!

The Ultimate Veggie Burger

These burgers are served up on a toasted wholemeal bun with tangy guacamole, peppery rocket & sticky-sweet caramelized red onion - an absolutely perfect combination, packed with layers of deep flavour without compromising on nutritional value at all! Gone are the days of flavourless, boring old veggie burgers - you seriously have to try this!! 

The Ultimate Veggie Burger

The quantities listed are for 6 burgers, feel free to half the recipe or have the rest as leftovers if feeding less people & to make gluten free substitute the plain flour for chickpea flour, serving up on gluten free rolls. 

You'll need:

• Chopping Board
• Knife
• Food processor
• Mixing bowl
• Small bowl
• Non-stick frying pan x2
• Griddle pan
• Spatula
• Wooden spoon

Ingredients:

Patty:

• 1/2 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 sundried tomatoes
• 1 cup chickpeas
• 1 cup sweetcorn
• 5 medium chestnut mushrooms
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt & pepper
• Oil from sundried tomatoes, for frying

Guac:

• 2 avocados
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt & pepper

Caramelized onions:

• 2 red onions
• 5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp unrefined brown sugar
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp oil

To serve:

• 2 large handfuls rocket
• 6 wholemeal rolls
• Veganase 

Method:

1. Finely chop the onion, mince the garlic and roughly chop the sundried tomatoes, add to the frying pan on a medium heat and fry off for a few minutes - you don't need to add any oil, there is enough from the tomatoes. Next, finely chop the mushrooms and add these to the pan, along with the seasonings and fry off for 5-10 mins.
2. Add the sweetcorn and chickpeas to the food processor and pulse a few times until roughly chopped but not completely pureed. Add to the mixing bowl, along with the cooked mixture from the pan & 2 tbsp plain flour, mix together well.
3. With the mixture, form 6 small balls, before heating up a tsp of the sundried tomato oil in the griddle pan on a medium heat, add 3 patties to the pan at a time, pushing down on them to flatten them out to a burger shape. Cook for 5 minutes on each side, when flipping ensure that the bottom is cooked properly first and gently flip with a spatula.
4. Meanwhile, peel the onion and chop it in half, thinly slice into rings and fry off in a tsp of oil for a few minutes, then add the sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and leave to caramelize, stirring every couple of minutes.
5. Roughly chop the avocado & tomatoes, add to a small bowl along with the lemon juice, chili flakes, salt & pepper and mix together.
6. Grill the rolls for a couple of minutes, then slice in half and  and return to the grill to toast on the inside.
7. Finally, make up your burger with the guacamole first, then the burger patty, caramelized onions, rocket and the top bun with a spoonful of veganase. Enjoy! Cassidy xx

The Ultimate Veggie Burger