Vegging Out Make Your Own Veggie Burgers, Filled With Fresh Ingredients

We love veggie burgers, but what the heck’s in them?

For five years, as we’ve plopped them into our supermarket carts and wolfed them down at trendy restaurants, we’ve wondered how to make these pricey little patties at home.

For health-conscious cooks, this has been one of the stumpers of the decade. And it turns out that Bharti Kirchner had the answer all along.

“I grew up in India and we’ve had vegetarian burgers forever,” says Kirchner, who shares recipes for 50 varieties in her new book, “Vegetarian Burgers” (HarperPerennial, $12.50).

In India, the vegetable patties aren’t served on buns, but she caught American-style burger fever after moving to the United States in the late 1960s.

A Hindu and strict vegetarian, Kirchner got tired of eating buns filled with lettuce and tomato when she was invited to barbecues. So she started taking along vegetarian patties to grill.

The aroma of spices wafting from the grill drew crowds at barbecues, and soon her friends were eating more of her patties than their own, she says.

Kirchner lives in Seattle now with her husband. She has always liked to cook, and started dabbling in cookbook writing after leaving her job in the computer industry six years ago. In addition to “Vegetarian Burgers,” she has written “The Bold Vegetarian,” “The Healthy Cuisine of India” and “Indian Inspired: A New Cuisine for the International Table.”

Kirchner says her latest book was a natural. When Gardenburgers and Spicy Bean Burgers started appearing in stores about five years ago, she realized she had the makings of a cookbook in her family recipe file.

“In India they’re all over, on every street corner,” she says.

Her old favorites include Pea Burgers, made with pureed green peas, rutabagas and almonds seasoned with garam masala, a fragrant Indian spice blend; Beet and Mushroom Burgers seasoned with garlic and green chilies and held together with Indian basmati rice, and Cashew Burgers with broccoli, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms.

After assembling a couple dozen of her family recipes, she began experimenting with new combinations inspired by Asian, Mexican and European ingredients.

She came up with such creations as Triple Mushroom Burgers with hoisin sauce, Green Burgers with Swiss chard, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, and Teriyaki Tofu Burgers with chopped greens, carrots and walnuts.

Although the burgers in her book have long lists of ingredients, they are easy to make. Most of the ingredients are simply dumped together in a food processor and pureed. Some grains require pre-cooking, and onions and garlic usually are sauteed before adding to the mixture.

A blender won’t work, she says, because too much moisture must be added to produce a puree. The food processor provides a uniform texture that is sturdy enough to hold together on a grill.

Kirchner says her burgers are more appealing than commercial brands because they’re made with fresh ingredients.

“I’m finding that even people who are burger fanatics are willing to try them,” she says. The book also includes sections on side dishes and homemade condiments to accompany the burgers. Following are a few of Kirchner’s favorite recipes.

Triple Mushroom Burgers

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup diced onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded and minced

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped coarse

1 pound fresh mushrooms (preferably a mixture of regular mushrooms and such wild varieties as shiitake and portobello), sliced 1/4-inch thick

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (see note)

1 cup cooked basmati rice (or other long-grain white rice)

1/4 cup pecans, toasted and ground to a coarse powder

1-1/2 cups dry bread crumbs

Salt

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Saute onion and garlic until onions turn brown at the edges and garlic is golden. Add jalapeno, bell pepper and mushrooms. Reduce heat, cover and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes, checking occasionally (if mixture sticks, stir in up to 1 tablespoon water). Add hoisin sauce and mix well.

With a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Increase heat and cook the sauce remaining in the skillet, stirring often, for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick. Pour sauce over the vegetable mixture.

Place mixture and rice in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in pecans and 1-1/4 cups of the bread crumbs with your hands. Season with salt to taste.

Form into 3-inch patties about 1/2-inch thick, mixing in extra crumbs if the patties don’t hold their shape. They will be delicate, so handle gently.

Broil on a pan lined with oiled foil, or grill on a vegetable grid over hot coals until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 to 7 minutes per side (check often to prevent burning). Serve on toasted rolls with watercress or shredded lettuce, sweet onion rings and ketchup.

Yield: 12 burgers (6 servings).

Note: Hoisin sauce, a ketchup-like, soybean-based condiment, is available in the Asian section of most supermarkets.

Cashew Burgers

1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 2 cups)

1/4 pound carrots, diced (about 1 cup)

1/4 pound broccoli florets, diced (about 2 cups)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup diced onion

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped coarse

2 tablespoons ketchup

1/2 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce (see note)

3/4 teaspoon red chili paste (sambal oelek; see note)

1 cup cooked bulgur wheat

3/4 cup unsalted raw cashews, ground to a coarse powder

1-3/4 cups dry bread crumbs

Salt

Steam potatoes and carrots until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add broccoli during last 10 minutes of steaming. Drain and set aside.

Heal oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onions about 2 minutes, until wilted. Stir in ginger and garlic. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, ketchup, tamari and sambal oelek. Reduce heat, cover and cook until vegetables are tender, 6 to 10 minutes, checking occasionally (if mixture sticks, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons water). Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Boil any juices in skillet to a syrupy consistency and pour over vegetables.

Place vegetables and bulgur in a food processor. Pulse several times to blend. Transfer to a large bowl and add cashews and 1-1/4 cups bread crumbs. Mix with your hands to thoroughly combine. Season with salt to taste.

Form into 12 patties, 3 inches across and 1/2-inch thick, mixing in extra bread crumbs if mixture doesn’t hold its shape. The patties will firm up during cooking.

Broil on a pan lined with oiled foil, or grill on a vegetable grid over hot coals until lightly browned on both sides, about 6 to 7 minutes per side (check often to prevent burning). Serve on buns with chopped lettuce or other greens, radish and cucumber slices and sweet mustard.

Yield: 12 burgers (6 servings).

Note: Tamari and red chili paste are available in Asian markets and in the Asian section of many supermarkets.

Refried Bean Burgers With Chipotle Pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup diced onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 large bell pepper (preferably red or golden), cored, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 cup cooked brown basmati rice (or other long-grain brown rice)

1/4 cup cooked wild rice

1 (16-ounce) can vegetarian refried beans

2 cups dry bread crumbs

Dash of ground chipotle chili pepper, or small amount of minced, canned chipotles, to taste

Salt

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is wilted. Add bell pepper and cumin. Reduce heat, cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes, until pepper is tender, checking occasionally (if mixture sticks, stir in up to 2 teaspoons water).

Place onion-bell pepper mixture in a food processor with brown rice, wild rice and beans. Process until smooth (some of the wild rice will remain whole; this is OK).

Transfer to a large bowl. Add 1-1/2 cups of the bread crumbs and season with chipotle pepper and salt. Mix thoroughly with your hands. Form into patties 3 inches across and 1/2-inch thick, adding more bread crumbs if patties don’t hold their shape.

Broil on a pan lined with oiled foil, or grill on a vegetable grid over hot coals until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 to 7 minutes per side (check often to prevent burning). Serve on buns with shredded lettuce and salsa, or burrito-style in warm tortillas (cut burgers in half and place end-to-end).

Yield: 8 to 9 burgers (4 servings).