It’s been one of those days. Stuck in traffic trying to avoid the A40 closure, thinking not only about how I can negotiate my way round West London to get home, but what to eat when I get there. West London suburbs seem to be teeming with fast food joints. The smell of fried onions and hot fat are overwhelming even with the car windows closed. Still, it made me think that I really fancy a burger – not a bought veggie burger that resembles plastic or cardboard, but a wholesome veggie burger full of nice things.
I managed to avoid making chips, mainly by the fact I had just bought three huge bunches of asparagus from a stall at Windsor farmer’s market on Saturday morning and wasn’t going to let them go to waste. So here it is – a mixed nut, seed and tofu burger in a bun, with a dollop of Boursin, lashings of ketchup (Heinz of course) and fried asparagus.
Finally, after several requests, I found the scrap pf paper I scribbled the recipe down on. They weren’t bad, but lacking something. Not sure what. If you try making them let me know what you think. Perhaps a teaspoon of Marmite to strengthen the flavours would help.
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 onions – finely chopped
1 green or red pepper – finely chopped
8-10 mushrooms – finely chopped
1 teaspoon each of dried thyme, basil and oregano
A splash of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
1 egg – beaten
about 300g mixed nuts and seeds
about 300g breadcrumbs of oats – or breadcrumbs would work too I think
Heat the oil on a very large fyring pan and gently fry the onion until softened but not browned. Add the pepper, mushroom, herbs and soy and continue to fry until everything soft and most of the liquid has evaporated.
Transfer contents to a large bowl and add the tomato puree. Grind the nuts and seeds (I used hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds) and add these to the bowl. Stir in the egg then add the breadcrumbs or oats and mix until you have a fairly firm consistency.
Shape into about 10 burgers (I lay out muffin rings on a baking sheet and pack each ring firmly with the mixture then remove the rings). Bake in the oven at 180C for 20-25 minutes until firm.
