Veggie Burgers

How annoying is it when the veggie burger you order off a menu turns out to be super starched based?

For me, part of the appeal of plant based meals is to keep it clean and low carb. I’m not down with a bean, lentil, bulgar, quinoa, chickpea situation that’s unjustifiably so high in carbs. Why? Because it’s avoidable. A veggie burger can indeed be solid, delicious, fresh, and stay together when it’s made of actual vegetables. This one here was made from whatever veggies I was able to procure during these viral times. Sweet potato, eggplant, broccoli, and cauliflower would work great here too, as would fresh herbs. Improvise to create! I worked with what I had, added in pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, cornmeal, eggs, and seasonings. The results were excellent. Enjoy these as patties, over a salad, or as a burger with your favorite toppings. My friend Tanya has hers with melted cheese.

PASSOVER SUBSTITUTION: I imagine that swapping in an equal amount of matzoh meal for the cornmeal will do just fine. Almond flour should work well too. This recipe made a lot so I had extra to freeze in between layers of parchment paper.

Ingredients:
Play around using the contents of your fridge. Pretty much any veggie that’s good roasted can work. Here’s what I used:
A container of sliced baby Bella mushrooms
Two cups chopped kale
Asparagus
A white onion
A red and a yellow pepper
Yellow and green zucchini, one whole each
One whole egg, one egg white
Six sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
Two tbsp store bought pesto
1/3 cup ground yellow cornmeal
Salt, pepper, garlic powder

Set oven to 400. Chop all the veggies except the kale into 1 1/2 pieces. Place in a pan, drizzle with olive oil and season lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast until tender and fragrant, like 20 min. Lightly sauté the kale for a few minutes on the stovetop until a little soft and bright green. Set aside. No need to overcook anything here since it will all be baked later. When the veggies are ready, allow them to cool for a few minutes. Mix to release steam and moisture.

CHANGE OVEN TO 350. Prepare two aluminum pans with non stick spray.
Take out your food processor. Add the kale, veggies, pesto, and sun dried tomatoes. Pulse to combine. Textures and colors are essential here so don’t overdo it. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Taste in order to adjust seasonings. I always start with less then add more. At this point I added 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Do what tastes right to you.

Add a whole egg, an egg white, and 1/3 cup ground cornmeal. Gently mix to combine. Certain vegetables have a lot of water content (mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes) so add 1/4 more cornmeal if you feel your mixture is too wet. Gently form handfuls of the mixture into patties and place in the pan. Drizzle the tops lightly with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes until edges start to turn brown. Enjoy in a variety of yummy ways!