Use Your Underburger

Oh man.

There is really not enough I can say about these veggie burgers. Full of goodness, well spiced, no weird soy additives, and so pleasantly plump that you'll need to maximize both sides of the burger as vessels for toppings. You gots to USE your underburger, friend.

Charlotte introduced me to these many moons ago, and everytime I incorporate them into a weekly meal plan, I just want to give myself a big golden star (or two medium golden triangles). The recipe comes from the Whitewater Cafe, a Nelson B.C. establishment that I hear is the bee's knees, but the last time I was in Nelson I was passing out from stomach flu and saw almost nothing (except half of a wedding...but I digress).

Ok, the ingredient list is long, and could be considered intimidating for this reason, but it ain't no thing, just a whole lot of simple ingredients mashed together, formed into patties, pan-fried, and shoved in your face.

Here goes:

1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, diced

1 tbsp cumin
1.5 tbsp chili powder
1 can (about 2 cups) black beans, drained, rinsed and roughly pureed (you can use a fork)
1 tsp oregano
1/4 c. parsley and/or cilantro finely chopped (you could also try basil, which I imagine would be quite lovely)

2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 c. almonds, roasted and chopped (taste way better when you buy them raw and roast them in a dry pan over high heat...but you've got to watch these puppies because they will burn)

1 c. sunflower seeds, roasted and chopped (same as above)
3 c. fine whole wheat or spelt bread crumbs
1/2 c. tamari (oops there IS soy in this afterall, but at least it's not a ground beef poser)
5 eggs (yes, 5 eggs)
2 c. carrots, grated (get someone else to do this. grating carrots sucks)
2 c. rolled oats

whole grain flour for dredging
oil for 'a fryin'




Les Actions:

In a large skillet, saute onions and garlic in a splash of oil until golden brown. Let cool. Mix ALL the remaining ingredients (except fryin' oil and flour) and add the cooled onions and garlic (if they are still hot they will accidentally cook the eggs, resulting in potential nastiness).

Use your hands as much as possible.

When everything is combined, shape the mixture into manageable sized patties and dredge both sides in flour. Heat oil (veggie is best for this, unless you like filling your apartment with smoke) in a large skillet and cook burgers until both sides are brown flipping them as needed. I made these several times when I ran the community kitchen at the downtown eastside neighbourhood house and they almost caused a riot. This is a good one for community kitchens because there's lots of prep and lots of jobs for people to do.

Now, as I said before, underburger usage is crucial here. Line the bun with all your favourite buddies (I'm a sucker for ketchup, so bad, but so good). May I recommend dijon, avocado, sunflower sprouts, tomato, sharp cheddar, arugula and pickles? Now, I often find that I don't need a top bun, as this thing gets so damn big, so I sub it for a large-leaved green (spinach, kale, various forms of lettuce) to keep it all contained.



These babies are too good.

Ok, a few last tips:

• The recipe above makes a copious amount of burgers (I think last time I made them we had 25 patties or so). I recommend halving the recipe, but still using the full amount of beans and definitely 3 eggs (yes, 3 eggs)
  
• Cook all patties at the same time. Don't keep these in your fridge uncooked for a few days... the raw egg and all.
  
• A friend suggested freezing them if you find you've just had too much underburger. I have yet to try this, but it seems like it could work.
  
• These are filling. I am a founding member of the big eater's club, and I still find 1 patty enough for dinner.
• Keep lots of big gold stars on hand, once you make these, you're gonna need them.
  

***Oma's tip for this recipe: for a meatier flavour, use ground beef. Silly Oma!


source: Whitewater Cafe cookbook