Recipe courtesy of Vegan Food Pimp
Vegan Food Pimp Burger
Now, I have eaten a few vegan burgers in restaurants where they were either too thin (in fact I had to check they were even there!) or so bland it was like eating cardboard. There is no reason in the world why a vegan burger should not be big, thick and juicy and here is the recipe for the famous VFP Burger.
You can make these gluten-free very easily just change the flour and check the labels on your soya sauce.
For four burgers:
If you double up, you can then use the other half to create vegan “meatballs” which you can serve on spaghetti with spicy tomato sauce. This avoids extra cooking for the next day and makes life easy!
- One jar/tin of ready cooked lentils
- One jar/tin of ready cooked chickpeas (you can chickpeas or lentils if you prefer just go with what you have)
- 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
- Dried oregano - about a tablespoon
- Paprika - about a tablespoon
- Chili flakes - half a teaspoon unless you like the heat
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Nutritional yeast - two or three tablespoons
- Splash soy sauce
- Squirt of ketchup
- Mustard (I use Dijon but you can use any mustard) - two teaspoons
- Liquid Smoke (optional) - a tablespoon
- Handful of pumpkin seeds
- Handful of sesame seeds
- Flour any type
- Olive oil for frying/baking
To make:
Drain the lentils, but not the chickpeas, and put everything (including the chickpea juice, as this is the secret to binding the ingredients together) into a large bowl. If you are using different beans just use that juice.
Mix all together and add enough flour to bind it all together. It does not need to be a solid lump, but it needs to be of a texture that is almost holding together.
Put in the fridge whilst you prep for cooking.
Heat your oven to 250 degrees. Using the pan you are going to put in the oven, add a good slug of oil and place on the hob to heat through on a medium heat - we are looking to just seal the burgers. I use metal rings to measure out the burgers, but you can just divide the mixture into four rounds if you don’t have these. Use extra flour to bring them together if needed.
Now put the burgers into the pan and fry gently until they are brown on each side. Place the pan into the oven for around 20 minutes, turning the burgers halfway through, until cooked and hot right through. Serve in a bun with all the usual additions and, of course, chips!
“Meatballs”
If you have made extra, take the remaining ingredients and roll into golf ball sizes and put on a floured plate. Cover and put in the fridge ready for tomorrow. When you are ready, shallow fry in olive oil until brown all over then add a couple of teaspoons of ready-made curry powder to the pan until you can smell the spices (you can use anything here, just experiment!). Then add a jar/tin of sieved tomatoes and heat through. Serve on spaghetti, rice or couscous with salad. Any leftovers meatballs can be popped into fresh bread with a big splodge of vegan mayonnaise and mustard – a delicious sandwich!
Burger variations:
Falafel Burger - use chickpeas only and add a tablespoon of dried mint, a teaspoon of ground cumin and a teaspoon of ground coriander. Serve the burgers in a pita bun with cucumber and mint relish and a ton of fresh salad leaves.
Mushroom and Leek Burger - chop up some mushrooms and leeks (I use about a handful of mushroom and a couple of leeks) and sauté until soft. Season and then add to your bean mix.
Chili Burger - make your burgers with kidney beans and add a little extra flaked chillies to the mix and - a little secret! - a big spoonful of Marmite. Serve with all the trimmings.