Yesterday, I had a dinner visit from my friend Doctor Hrothgar, who came bearing burgers. He has decided to embark with me on my search for the perfect veggie burger, and while our experiments are going in very different directions, I think that with some finetuning we’ll both end up with excellent results. He, Nathan, and I spent an excellent evening grilling, eating burgers and potato salad (recipe below), talking about food, and watching the fireflies come out on a beautiful summer evening.
His burger concept is based in ground seitan, with a myriad of ingredients to give flavor and texture, some of which I wouldn’t have thought of (raisins? peanut butter? surprising, but they work). He also used egg as a binder this time, but we’re both hoping to arrive at something vegan in the end. His burgers were very tasty, even meaty, yet still a little too moist and crumbly. Definitely looking in the right direction. I’m looking forward to the next iteration.
Moistness continues to be an issue for both of us. We discussed a few possibilities for sucking out extra moisture (but not too much!), such as adding mushrooms or other absorbent foods. I think this idea has some promise. I’ve also half-decided that our big old grill (one of the boxy kind you usually find at campsites) has bars that are too big and too widely spaced. I’m thinking of getting something with finer spaces to set on top, so the burgers stick less. The moistness might be less of an issue if they don’t stick as they cook.
It’s not surprising to find that others have tried this challenge before me: the folks at Chow say they’ve made the Ultimate Veggie Burger. Their recipe looks tasty (I haven’t tried it yet), but isn’t quite what I want. For one thing, they use egg, which I’d like to avoid. It is also a very complex recipe: it has half again as many ingredients as my first attempt, and takes over an hour to make, assuming you have cooked lentils and rice on hand. Many of the ingredients, such as beets and fresh parsley, require planning to buy ahead of time, since they aren’t usually kitchen staples. I’m also not excited about their use of zucchini, but that’s just because I don’t like them. Most of all, I’d like something that can be thrown together in half an hour with ingredients on hand; we’ll see if it can happen!
I do like how they started with a desired ingredients list, and refined from there. So, here’s my list of ingredients that might find their way into a good burger (but not all in the same burger):
- Tofu or black beans as a base
- mushrooms (fresh and/or dried)
- quinoa
- greens (probably spinach, finely chopped or pureed)
- banana? (this is a theory only, but I’m curious)
- walnuts
- garlic
- onion
- herbs: basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, tarragon, cilantro
- salt and pepper
- maple syrup
- flax seeds (in place of egg)
I’ll be trying another round this week, based on this list; stay tuned!
Last but not least, here’s my spur-of-the-moment potato salad recipe from last night. Note that I cooked the potatoes ahead of time, in the slow cooker, one night when it was very hot out, and then kept them in the fridge until I was ready to use them. This plan worked well; cooking time is usually a limiting factor in using potatoes.
Potato Salad
- Boil potatoes until tender, then chill. Chop into bite-sized pieces. Stir in some chopped onion.
- Combine equal parts sour cream and mayonaise, about half a cup of each. (I used creme fraiche, because I had it, and vegan mayo)
- Add a good spoonful of crushed garlic (the more, the better), a little salt, lots of dried dill, some good mustard, and fresh chives. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Pour dressing over potatoes and stir well.