Saturday, February 23, 2013

Lemon and Sage Burgers

These patties are a little bit gourmet, in as much as burgers ever can be classy. They're also quick and easy - we had them on a Friday night for dinner, which is usually our laziest night in the kitchen. A bit of forethought is required, unless you use canned beans. The inclusion of lemon was inspired by a bag of Myer Lemons grown by a friend of mine. We happened to have a roasted eggplant in the fridge waiting to be used -- you see, our eggplants remain in high-intensity fruit-production mode, so sometimes we'll throw a whole one on the barbie to use later in the week -- so we turned it into a really nice condiment that really complemented the flavours of the burger.

Lemon and Sage White Bean Burgers

2 cups of cooked cannellini beans, drained
1/4 c. olive oil
juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp. dried sage
1/2 c. polenta (corn meal)
1/2 to 1 c. gluten flour
salt & pepper

I cooked my beans on the weekend and put them in a container with the olive oil, lemon juice and sage, and left them to 'marinate' in the fridge all week. If you're using tinned beans, or just haven't planned ahead, just mix them all in a bowl. When you're ready to make the patties, mash the beans with the olive oil, lemon juice and sage until most of the beans are broken up. Stir in the polenta, and salt and pepper to taste. Then mix in 1/2 c. of gluten flour. Knead for a few minutes, adding more gluten flour if they feel soft. The dough should be pretty sturdy, because these were nice, firm burgers. Form into patties.

Cook on the BBQ, or in a frying pan, or in the oven. We did ours on the barbie, over very low heat. The delicate flavours in these wouldn't taste very good charred, I think, so cook until just lightly browned.

Eggplant mayonnaise
1 medium eggplant, roasted and then cut into chunks.
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. vegan mayo (like Praise 99% fat free, which we used)
salt & pepper

In a blender, food processor or mini chopper, blend up the eggplant chunks with the olive oil and lemon juice until it is pretty smooth. Add vegan mayo and whiz it through to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

We had our burgers on bread rolls with the eggplant mayo, some malabar spinach from the garden, and cucumber.

8 comments:

urban vegan said...

These sound easy and delicious, and I like that they use basic ingredients. Gonna have to try these.

Kari said...

Ooh! I love that they sound gourmet but are still practical to make - the perfect combination :) I will try these next time we make burgers!

Joey said...

Anything with roasted aubergine is always fantastic. If I could get baba ganoush turned into an IV drip, I'd consider it. Nice burger combo - I really like lemon and sage with anything. And cannellini beans with anything. I can definitely see this one working!

Anonymous said...

I have a similar Burger recipe; so I know these Burgers will be delicious.

Just one Q. My recipe doesn't call for Gluten flour or Polenta, so I was just wondering can I use the Polenta by itself and not use the Gluten? Thanks in advance.

Great site btw, and thanks for sharing your wonderful recipe!!

Theresa said...

Hi Ozzie Vegi Gal - the gluten is the binding ingredient, it makes the burgers nice and firm and chewy. You could try it without the gluten, and add more polenta. They will probably be softer and maybe a bit crumbly, but still tasty!

Anonymous said...

[ Smiles ] This recipe is worth trying1

Millie said...

I LOVE ALL THIS GREAT FOOD, ITS AMAZING.

http://nuestracena-vegancuisine.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

These sound amazing! One question, I can't find any gluten flour, would it be okay to use rice flour or whole wheat flour instead?