The ultimate vegetarian burger recipe

Name: The ultimate vegetarian burger recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Olive oil; 6 big Portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped; A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked; 1 × 400g tin of haricot or cannellini beans, well drained; 4 fat Medjool dates, pitted; 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped; A small bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped; 2 tbsp tahini; 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari; 200g cooked and cooled brown rice (100g uncooked weight); 50g breadcrumbs or oats; The grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon; To serve; 1–2 avocados, peeled and sliced; Tomato relish or ketchup; Pickled cucumber (see above); A few handfuls of spinach leaves; 8 seeded burger buns (I use wholemeal ones)

4 steps

Prep:25minCook:15min

I played around with a lot of recipes before settling on this one, some full of bright herb freshness and grated veg, some packed with protein-rich tofu, and all were good, but what I look for in a burger is a deep, moreish flavour, savoury and complex, so this is the one. I use brown rice here, but any cooked grain will do – quinoa, pearl barley and farro all work well. I like to make a quick pickled cucumber to top these with. Thinly slice a quarter of a cucumber and put it in a bowl with a pinch of salt, a squeeze of honey and a good tablespoon of white wine vinegar, then scrunch together and leave to sit while you make your burgers. A quick pickle that beats a gherkin any day.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 12:54:52 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Great

Glycemic Index

Moderate

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories544.6 kcal (27%)

Total Fat8.5 g (12%)

Carbs59.9 g (23%)

Sugars14.1 g (16%)

Protein26 g (52%)

Sodium565.4 mg (28%)

Fiber11.1 g (40%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

8 servings

olive oil

6Portobello mushrooms

big, roughly chopped

3 sprigsfresh thyme

leaves picked

1 x 400gharicot beans

or cannellini, well drained

4Medjool dates

fat, pitted

2 clovesgarlic

peeled and finely chopped

fresh parsley

finely chopped

2 Tbsptahini

2 Tbspsoy sauce

200gbrown rice

50gbreadcrumbs

3 handfulsspinach leaves

8burger buns

seeded, I use wholemeal ones

Instructions

Step 1

Set a large pan on a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Once the oil is good and hot, add the mushrooms and thyme and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fry on a good heat until the mushrooms have dried out and are slightly browned, then set to one side and leave to cool.

Step 2

Next, put the drained beans in a food processor with the dates, garlic, parsley, tahini and soy sauce. Pulse until you have a smoothish mixture, then transfer to a bowl and add the rice, breadcrumbs, lemon zest and cooled mushrooms. Mix well, and put in the fridge for 10 minutes or so to firm up, then shape the mixture into eight patties. Place these on baking paper and keep in the fridge for up to a day (the burgers also freeze well at this point).

Step 3

When you are ready to cook the burgers, heat your oven to 230C/210C Fan/Gas 8 and bake them for 15 minutes, until nicely brown. If you like cheese on your burger, place a slice on top a couple of minutes before it comes out of the oven.

Step 4

While your burgers are cooking, get your toppings ready. I go with avocado, tomato relish and pickled cucumber, plus a few spinach leaves. Hummus, grated carrot and beansprouts are another favourite, but feel free to improvise. Once the burgers are golden, toast your buns and layer everything up.

View on telegraph.co.uk

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