Making your own veggie burgers can be fun and rewarding. You get a great vegetarian patty without all the additives and preservatives that make frozen food selections less healthy choices for you. To make your own veggie burger, you will either need to replace the “meat” with a large, grilled portabella mushroom or an assortment of finely chopped mixed vegetables sauteed to tenderness and combined with egg or some other emulsifying compound, and fried. This is easier than it sounds. We’ll take a look at both methods here in this article. One involves a little grilling and and plating and is easier. The other needs a bit more attention in the kitchen and will take more time for careful selection.
The Portabella Method
Get yourself a large portabella mushroom cap and clean it thoroughly, carefully removing the gills from the mushroom. Once you have cleaned the gills out, you can marinade the mushroom in your favorite flavored sauce. Many people enjoy soy sauce, but one tasty alternative is a mixture of Worcestershire an possibly a bit of vinegar along with your favorite spices. No matter what you marinade in, you can bet that the results will be Absolutely Fabu! Just take that portabella mushroom cap to the grill and fire it up, and voila! Mushroom burger in no time. Serve on a toasted Kaiser roll with sesame seeds, a slice of fresh and soft avocado, some tomato and bean sprouts, and maybe a touch of wasabi mayonaise. Complete the look with a decorative toothpick and a pickle slice and serve with a side of grilled pineapple and some fresh, light cole slaw made of shredded cabbage, a little sugar, vinegar, ground black pepper, and mayonnaise.
Vegetables Method
Get a variety of vegetables that tend to cook down to the same tenderness in about the same amount of time: try summer squash and zucchini, potatoes, red and green bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, onions, and even snow peas. Toss these into a hot skillet with a small amount of olive oil and pan fry until tender but not flimsy. Once the vegetables are done, set them out to cool. Whip up one beaten egg and some bread crumbs if you like. This can be used to hold the substance all together. You can alternatively use some kind of grain, such as Quinoa, or wheat germ to add to the consistency if you wish. Form a patty with the cooled vegetables and the “glue” and pan fry for about 4-5 minutes per side until done and golden brown. You can even bake your patty in the oven if you prefer to cut back on fat from the oil used for pan frying.
Regardless of the method you use, the result is a flavorful and visually stunning work of art: a veggie burger not pressed together in a remote processing plant and filled with artificial preservatives, but made of fresh whole ingredients you chose for yourself. When standard “buger fare” condiments aren’t complementary to your burger’s flavor, try some home made sauces that are off the beaten path: cucumber dill sauce, cool and creamy avocado spread, and Japanese “yum-yum” sauce make excellent choices to give your burger the extra flavor that can’t be found in plain yellow mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise.
That’s your artistic veggie burger recipe for the week! Fire up your grill, turn off the direct tv, and get cooking.
