burger
SUNFLOWER AND SESAME BURGERS
04/03/15 13:49
SUNFLOWER AND SESAME BURGERS
Everybody loves a burger right? The beauty of eating a plant based diet is that you get very creative with what can be squashed into a burger shape. Beans, lentils, quinoa, various vegetables, seeds, nuts…. Some combinations have resulted in lukewarm response but my latest creation was a very successful one.
The successful formula seems to be: beans and tahini to bind the ingredients, veggies to bulk up the burgers and nuts and/or seed for crunch. Sometimes breadcrumbs or chickpea flour if they don’t seem to keep their shape. Finally some flavourings like spices, seeds, herbs, soya sauce, ketchup, salsa, chutney…It’s very easy :)
You can prepare your burgers ahead, leave them in the fridge to firm up and cook later. This amount makes 4 very large burgers or 8 medium ones. I size mine according to the burger buns I happen to have. Bake these till golden brown, the seeds are going to crisp up making the burgers delicious. Add some toppings and a crunchy salad (slaw is perfect) for a great midweek meal.
SUNFLOWER AND SESAME BURGERS
makes 8 medium burgers or 4 large ones
serves 4
ingredients:
1 large carrot (about 200g, 1/2lb), grated
2 leeks, thoroughly washed, finely shredded
1 tin of beans (I used red kidney)
1 cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 Tbs tahini sauce
1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (I used vegan Marigold powder)
1 Tbs soya sauces (tamari or shoyu)
method:
Everybody loves a burger right? The beauty of eating a plant based diet is that you get very creative with what can be squashed into a burger shape. Beans, lentils, quinoa, various vegetables, seeds, nuts…. Some combinations have resulted in lukewarm response but my latest creation was a very successful one.
The successful formula seems to be: beans and tahini to bind the ingredients, veggies to bulk up the burgers and nuts and/or seed for crunch. Sometimes breadcrumbs or chickpea flour if they don’t seem to keep their shape. Finally some flavourings like spices, seeds, herbs, soya sauce, ketchup, salsa, chutney…It’s very easy :)
You can prepare your burgers ahead, leave them in the fridge to firm up and cook later. This amount makes 4 very large burgers or 8 medium ones. I size mine according to the burger buns I happen to have. Bake these till golden brown, the seeds are going to crisp up making the burgers delicious. Add some toppings and a crunchy salad (slaw is perfect) for a great midweek meal.
SUNFLOWER AND SESAME BURGERS
makes 8 medium burgers or 4 large ones
serves 4
ingredients:
1 large carrot (about 200g, 1/2lb), grated
2 leeks, thoroughly washed, finely shredded
1 tin of beans (I used red kidney)
1 cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 Tbs tahini sauce
1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (I used vegan Marigold powder)
1 Tbs soya sauces (tamari or shoyu)
method:
- In a large bowl combine the carrot and leeks. Add the beans, using a potato masher mash into the leeks and carrots.
- Add rest of the ingredients and mix well together using hands.
- Shape into 8 burgers.
- Place on a parchment paper lined baking tray and bake at 180C for 30 min, turning the burgers halfway through. Bake till golden brown.
- Serve in a burger bun with your favourite toppings.
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BAKED SWEET POTATO FALAFELS
15/06/13 10:36
BAKED SWEET POTATO FALAFELS
The other day my son told me how a boy from his class bought a pack of biscuits for breakfast and brought it to school. My son was pretty pleased because his friend share the biscuits (and trans fats!) with his school mates.
My friend and I were talking about this over a nice lunch. We were trying to get our heads around how a 10 year old can be put in charge of buying his breakfast. I know he is not the only one, I hear stories of my son’s school friends buying extra large chocolate bars and cans of Red Bull before school.
We are both mum’s who understand how important good nutritions is for everybody, and especially growing kids. We can’t imagine being is a situation where we wouldn’t have anything in the house for kids to eat at breakfast. But there are households where this is the case, it is easier to give a child couple of quid and send them to a shop. I find that very sad. Especially since there has been a 4 fold increase in children treated in hospital for conditions linked to obesity.
My friend than talked about how her mum had knowledge about healthy eating without having access to the information we have today. The difference is she cooked, her mother cooked, her mother’s mother cooked. They passed the knowledge down the generations. Today the situation is different, many parents (I don’t want to blame the mum’s only) don’t cook, they look at the price and convenience when it comes to food not its nutritional value (healthy food doesn’t have to be expensive just look at http://agirlcalledjack.com/). Nutrition education at schools is not great, or dismissed by parents as rubbish. I did speak to someone who complained about school filling her daughters with rubbish and now she is refusing to even have a cake at home...
I have found, with my own kids, that it is not always easy to convince them to eat healthy. I know if I gave them money to buy their own breakfast they would walk out with a bar of chocolate or a croissant. And there are many things they refuse to eat. I still have the sweet potato hurdle to overcome. I do keep trying though... I came up with these sweet potato falafels hoping they might not realize... OK the colour gave the sweet potato away and than came the refusal but this will not stop me trying...
BAKED SWEET POTATO FALAFELS
These can be also made into larger burgers, the mixture will make 6 burgers. They are also delicious cold the next day in a pitta bread with salad. They are yummy with a mango chutney.
ingredients
1 large sweet potato
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1 small onion, cut into chunks
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 cup rolled oats (use gluten free oats for gluten free version)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
3 Tbs hemp seeds
2 Tbs of chickpea flour (if needed)
Makes 12
method
The other day my son told me how a boy from his class bought a pack of biscuits for breakfast and brought it to school. My son was pretty pleased because his friend share the biscuits (and trans fats!) with his school mates.
My friend and I were talking about this over a nice lunch. We were trying to get our heads around how a 10 year old can be put in charge of buying his breakfast. I know he is not the only one, I hear stories of my son’s school friends buying extra large chocolate bars and cans of Red Bull before school.
We are both mum’s who understand how important good nutritions is for everybody, and especially growing kids. We can’t imagine being is a situation where we wouldn’t have anything in the house for kids to eat at breakfast. But there are households where this is the case, it is easier to give a child couple of quid and send them to a shop. I find that very sad. Especially since there has been a 4 fold increase in children treated in hospital for conditions linked to obesity.
My friend than talked about how her mum had knowledge about healthy eating without having access to the information we have today. The difference is she cooked, her mother cooked, her mother’s mother cooked. They passed the knowledge down the generations. Today the situation is different, many parents (I don’t want to blame the mum’s only) don’t cook, they look at the price and convenience when it comes to food not its nutritional value (healthy food doesn’t have to be expensive just look at http://agirlcalledjack.com/). Nutrition education at schools is not great, or dismissed by parents as rubbish. I did speak to someone who complained about school filling her daughters with rubbish and now she is refusing to even have a cake at home...
I have found, with my own kids, that it is not always easy to convince them to eat healthy. I know if I gave them money to buy their own breakfast they would walk out with a bar of chocolate or a croissant. And there are many things they refuse to eat. I still have the sweet potato hurdle to overcome. I do keep trying though... I came up with these sweet potato falafels hoping they might not realize... OK the colour gave the sweet potato away and than came the refusal but this will not stop me trying...
BAKED SWEET POTATO FALAFELS
These can be also made into larger burgers, the mixture will make 6 burgers. They are also delicious cold the next day in a pitta bread with salad. They are yummy with a mango chutney.
ingredients
1 large sweet potato
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1 small onion, cut into chunks
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 cup rolled oats (use gluten free oats for gluten free version)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
3 Tbs hemp seeds
2 Tbs of chickpea flour (if needed)
Makes 12
method
- First peel, cut into large pieces and steam the sweet potato till soft.
- In a food processor process the chickpeas, onion, garlic and oats and process till the ingredients are coming together. You may have to stop and scrape the mixture down from the sides.
- Tip the mixture into a bowl, add the drained cooked potatoes, cumin, coriander and the hemp seeds. You can also add couple tbs of fresh coriander (which I didn’t have on hand).
- Using your hands mix everything together while crushing the sweet potatoes.
- If the mixture is too sloppy you can add couple tablespoons of chickpea flour.
- Line a baking tray with non stick baking paper. Make 12 - 16 falafels (I made 12 larger ones). The job will be easier if you wet your hands before shaping your falafels, the mix won’t stick to your hands. I find it I have to wet my hands every 3-4 falafels.
- Place the falafels on the baking sheet and bake at 180C for 20 minutes turning over half way through.
CURRIED CHICKPEA BURGERS
18/06/12 20:23
CURRIED CHICKPEA BURGERS
You know the drill. It has been a long day you don’t fancy cooking and the take way menus are calling to you. You order more than you need, spend more than you should, wait nearly an hour, eat more than you intended, fall onto the sofa and complain about being stuffed. At that precise moment you make the ground breaking decision that you won’t ever make the same mistake again. Until....
Couple weeks ago I decided that we treat ourselves to an Indian take-way, we were in the vicinity of a greatly popular Indian restaurant so we popped in to get some curries to accompany our Saturday movie. When we got home and opened the bag I noticed that at the bottom of the take-way bag was roughly a centimetre of oil. It must have leaked out of the containers and looked extremely unappetising. I was glad the curry came in a very sturdy plastic carried bag.
It does amaze me how many people eat take-aways several times a week. Kebabs, pizzas, burgers, curries and the UK’s most popular Chinese take away is a big business. Instead of dialling the number or getting into your car to get to the nearest take-away restaurant we have to put on our aprons and start cooking healthy delicious meals at home. We have to involve kids in food preparation too, this recipe is brilliant for that. My fusion curried burgers are much better for you than any take-away.
CURRIED CHICKPEA BURGERS
If you don’t want to end up with a large piece of garlic or ginger in your burger make sure you chop the garlic and ginger before putting them into the food processor.
No oils added.
Makes 6 burgers
ingredients
85g (1/2 cup) brown rice
1 red onion, roughly chopped
1 tin chickpeas
1 red chilli
1 inch ginger, peeled, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
pinch of asofetida
salt
2 Tbs mango chutney
1 Tbs tomato paste
handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
1/2 cup cashews, roughly chopped
25 g (1 oz) of breadcrumbs
Whole wheat burger buns or pitta pockets
method
You know the drill. It has been a long day you don’t fancy cooking and the take way menus are calling to you. You order more than you need, spend more than you should, wait nearly an hour, eat more than you intended, fall onto the sofa and complain about being stuffed. At that precise moment you make the ground breaking decision that you won’t ever make the same mistake again. Until....
Couple weeks ago I decided that we treat ourselves to an Indian take-way, we were in the vicinity of a greatly popular Indian restaurant so we popped in to get some curries to accompany our Saturday movie. When we got home and opened the bag I noticed that at the bottom of the take-way bag was roughly a centimetre of oil. It must have leaked out of the containers and looked extremely unappetising. I was glad the curry came in a very sturdy plastic carried bag.
It does amaze me how many people eat take-aways several times a week. Kebabs, pizzas, burgers, curries and the UK’s most popular Chinese take away is a big business. Instead of dialling the number or getting into your car to get to the nearest take-away restaurant we have to put on our aprons and start cooking healthy delicious meals at home. We have to involve kids in food preparation too, this recipe is brilliant for that. My fusion curried burgers are much better for you than any take-away.
CURRIED CHICKPEA BURGERS
If you don’t want to end up with a large piece of garlic or ginger in your burger make sure you chop the garlic and ginger before putting them into the food processor.
No oils added.
Makes 6 burgers
ingredients
85g (1/2 cup) brown rice
1 red onion, roughly chopped
1 tin chickpeas
1 red chilli
1 inch ginger, peeled, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
pinch of asofetida
salt
2 Tbs mango chutney
1 Tbs tomato paste
handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
1/2 cup cashews, roughly chopped
25 g (1 oz) of breadcrumbs
Whole wheat burger buns or pitta pockets
method
- Cook rice according to the package instructions, let it cool down.
- Put the following ingredients into your food processor: chickpeas, onion, red chilli, ginger, garlic, spices, mango chutney and tomato paste.
- Process together until well chopped but not smooth.
- Add the rice and pulse together few times till mixed through.
- Put the mixture into a large bowl, add the coriander, cashews and breadcrumbs.
- Shape the mixture into 6 burgers. The mixture is rather wet but if you wet your hands between each burger they do come together very well.
- Place the burgers onto a greaseproof paper lined baking sheet.
- Chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.
- Bake for 25-30 min in a 180 oven, turning the burgers halfway through.
- Serve in a bun or a pitta pocket (I enjoyed mine wrapped in lettuce leaves). Garnish with your favourite sauces and toppings.
Roasted carrot burgers with celeriac remoulad
25/01/12 21:54
Burger King introduced a new burger, 966 calories and 58g of fat. Exactly what we need, more fat, more burger, more bacon, I do hope it is served with a side order of statins and a syringe of adrenalin just in case the diners need to kick start their heart. New staff training manual should include how to use a defibrillator and every fast food branch rather keep one on site ready to go.
Here is one of my much healthier burgers, it is made with lentils and carrots. Doesn’t sound very exciting right? But behold my son said said it was LUSH and made me promise he can have the leftover one in his lunch box tomorrow. He wants it topped with the celeriac remoulade too. Better put a reminder into my phone....
Healthy veggie burger is a fantastic vessel for hidden vegetables, and if prepared in advance, quick and easy school night meal. They freeze great, before or after cooking, so think in advance or store the leftovers. If freezing from uncooked, line a tray that will fit into your freezer with a greaseproof paper or cling film, put the burgers on top, in a single layer. When frozen solid put into a freezer proof bag. You can cook the from frozen, add 5 min on top of the recommended cooking time.
Roasted carrot burgers with celeriac remoulade
The size of your burgers will depend on the size of your bun, so shape them accordingly. Nobody likes a small burger in a large bun, and the other way things get a bit too messy. My burger buns were on the small size, therefore I ended up with 8 burgers. If you are making 4 burgers allow extra 5 minutes in the oven.
When cooking the lentils try to cook out all the water, towards the end of cooking make sure to stir if you don’t want to end up with lentils stuck to the bottom of your pot. I chop my onion in a food processor, quicker and no tears as with the grating. Change your blades and grate your celeriac in a food processor too.
The best thing about making these burgers is, that since they do not contain any animal products, you can always taste them for seasoning without the fear of food poisoning.
ingredients:
the burgers:
450g (1lb) carrots, cleaned
1tsp olive oil
200g (1 Cup) red lentils
550ml/21/4 cups water
1 medium onion, chopped very small or grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 TBS cumin
salt and pepper to taste
50 g bread crumbs
whole wheat burger buns
lettuce leaves torn into manageable pieces
the remoulade
1 celeriac, peeled and grated
1 heaped Tbs whole grain Dijon mustard
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 heaped Tbs dairy free mayonnaise
salt + pepper to taste
method
- Preheat oven to 180C. Cut your carrots into 1 inch chunks. Add 1 tsp of olive oil and using your hands mix well making sure all carrot pieces are covered with oil.
- Line a baking sheet with grease proof baking paper, put carrots on top of it and roast them in the oven for 30-40 min, until the carrots start caramelising along the edges and are quite tender when pierced with a knife. Set aside to cool.
- While the carrots are roasting, cook the lentils. Bring them to boil (no salt) and reduce the heat. Make sure the lentils are just simmering, otherwise the water will evaporate before they become tender. This will take about 15min. Check on the lentils, if there is still too much water, cook a bit longer stirring constantly until most water is gone. Put into a bowl and set aside. Any residual liquid will be absorbed while the lentils are cooling.
- When the carrots are cooled chopped them in a food processor. Aim for a very small pieces, not a carrot mash, you do want some texture.
- Mix the carrots, lentils, onions, cumin, seasoning and breadcrumbs together. Shape into 8 burgers. You can refrigerate them at this stage.
- Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof baking paper, place the burgers on top and bake for 30 minutes, flipping them over halfway through.
- While the burgers are cooking make the remoulade. Just mix all the ingredients together, taste for more lemon juice or seasoning.
- To assemble burger, put a little bit or remoulade on the bottom of the bun, some lettuce leaves, burger and top with a large dollop of the remoulade. Last but not least the top half of your bun. Serve.