Wasabi Veggie Burgers

by di Mar 14, 2015 0 comments

Vegetarian or not, I love a good veggie burger.
I love veggie burgers cooked crispy on the outside and soft on the inside allowing all the flavors of the vegetables to mingle.
These Wasabi Veggie Burgers don’t disappoint with the addition of wasabi to complement both the cumin and beetroot. If spicy is not your thing you can cut down on the amount used and leave out the chili.

This recipe makes for a soft burger mix so a light hand is needed for the shaping and cooking stages.
They will try to “spread” a bit due to this but they can be brought back in line with a spatula for shaping. I would not grill these on a BBQ unless using a flat griddle as they will quickly fall apart and disappear into the char-coaly depths.

I used canned Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans in the recipe but you can use dried, cooked peas if you prefer, just keep the weight the same.

The burgers were cooked on the stovetop but often, because I’m lazy and like to enjoy a glass of wine before dinner, I’ll stick them in the oven.
They take longer and can spread a bit but they end up the same in the end.

I also used cooked beetroot but you could use uncooked. If you do that I’d recommend finishing the burgers in the oven for 10 – 15 min. at 180°c so that the beets cook all the way through.

Veg. substitutions are too many to name but grated carrot and celeriac in place of courgette would work incredibly well with the cumin and wasabi.

Lastly, I made a yogurt and mint sauce to accompany these spicy little numbers.
It is a simple recipe that ends up being a perfect partner for a great little burger.
You could use mint sauce instead of fresh mint or some grated cucumber to make an interesting addition.

Enjoy!

Wasabi Veggie Burger

Ingredients:

For 6 Veggie Burgers

1 large tin (800g) Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans – rinsed and drained
1 Med. Courgette/Zucchini
1 Med. Beetroot – cooked and peeled
1 Small Onion – Minced
2 cloves Garlic – Minced
2 heaped tsp ground Cumin
½ tsp dried Chili
½ tsp Celery Salt
1 lge Pinch of Salt
¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Wasabi Paste
Vegetable Oil for frying

250g Natural Yogurt
2 tbsp chopped Fresh Mint

The Mix:

Mix yogurt and mint together in a bowl, cover and put in fridge.

Roughly grate the courgette, place into a colander, sprinkle with the salt and leave to drain for 30 min. (The salt will draw the water out of the courgette)
Using your hand squeeze excess liquid out of courgette – there should be quite a bit.
Place into a large mixing bowl.

Roughly grate beetroot and squeeze out liquid with your hand.
Put in bowl with courgettes.

Mash Chickpeas with a potato masher until almost smooth. It’s ok to leave some lumps.
Add to mixing bowl with veg.

Add all other ingredients to veg. mixture, except for the oil and, mix lightly until combined. Be careful not to over mix and turn the whole thing red.

Divide mixture into 6 balls, flatten, shape into patties and place onto greaseproof paper. Patties should be about 2 cm thick

Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan, enough just to cover the bottom of the pan.
Heat on high until hot but not smoking then add patties.
Turn heat to med. and cook patties, without turning, for 3 min. Turn heat lower if they start to burn.
Flip patties and cook for a further 4 – 5 min.

The patties are now ready to eat.
Serve with a big dollop of Minted Yogurt on top.

Drink This:

Try this Pinot Gris from New Zealand

Food 2017:

Food 2017

Vegetarian