Another made up recipe which I think turned out fantastic! I based it on the Green Monster Veggie Burger from the blog veganheaven.org. Not a blog I follow much, but this veggie burger recipe caught my eye because of its beautiful green color, and also because I realized how much of my CSA stash could get used up in this throw-it-all-in-there approach. With a few tweaks and obviously the addition of copious amounts of spices, I was able to make this my own. I love running a test kitchen! Why don't I do this for a living?
Ingredients:
2 bunches kale (any kind of kale you want, there are so many varieties to choose from! I went with the most common curly kale), destemmed
1 head broccoli, separated into florets and use the stem also by slicing it into discs and going down to the bottom until it becomes too tough to slice
2 sticks celery, rough chop
1 cup split moong lentils with the skin (soak in 1 cup hot water for 1 hour with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 2 tsp coriander pwd)
3 medium red potatoes, peeled and large diced
1 yellow or red onion, diced
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated and sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup unsalted or raw almonds, rough chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 large egg, beaten
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp coriander pwd
1 tbsp fennel pwd
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp biryani masala (if you don't have this on hand and are not planning on buying any, just use an extra tbsp of garam masala. Or if you feel like this might be too many spices for you, feel free to omit. I always err on the side of more spices because with burgers, the bun helps cut a lot of the spiciness. And you can also add a yogurt spread on the bun to cool your mouth down)
2 tbsp brown sugar
Salt to taste
4 cups of water
Oil to saute
Cook:
In a large, deep pot, boil the water on high heat.
Add potatoes and boil for 15 minutes or until done.
Remove cooked potatoes from water with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl to cool.
Add kale, broccoli florets and stems, and celery to the same water and boil for 5 minutes.
Remove from water with a slotted spoon and place in same bowl as potatoes and let cool.
Add the lentils and the water they were soaking in, as well as the fresh ginger to the same pot of boiling water the vegetables were cooked in. Make sure the lentils are submerged, if not add more water.
Turn heat down to medium and place lid on the pot. Cook for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a separate pan on medium heat and add oil.
Once oil is heated, add onions, garlic and the white part of the scallions and saute.
Once brown and caramelized, add the almonds, turmeric, cayenne pepper, coriander pwd, fennel pwd, garam masala and 1 tsp salt.
Turn heat down to low and saute for 5 minutes until spices are fragrant, but be careful not to burn.
Add onion/spice mixture to same bowl as all the vegetables and combine.
Once the lentils are cooked, add the brown sugar, 2 tsp salt and turn up the heat to evaporate any excess water. A little water in the pot is fine as that will help when blending all the ingredients.
Turn off the heat and add all the other separately cooked vegetables to the pot.
Using your immersion blender, blend the vegetables and lentils together to form a thick mixture. The mixture will stiffen as it cools, so don't worry too much if it looks a little too loose to form burgers. However, if you still feel there is a little too much water, you can turn the heat back on and try to evaporate some of the water. But again, as the mixture cools, it definitely stiffens quite a bit.
It is very difficult to adjust any seasonings once you form the patties, so make sure you taste the mixture before doing so and add anything you think is necessary.
If you find the mixture is just too spicy for your taste, you can boil an additional potato or two and mash it into the mixture.
Put the mixture in the refrigerator to cool for a couple of hours or so.
Once cooled, add the beaten egg and combine well.
Roll out 2 inch diameter balls with your hands and slightly flatten to create patties.
You can either freeze these patties and defrost for when you want to make the burgers. They can keep in the freezer for a good 6 months or until they become frosty. I like to separate them with little pieces of foil or parchment paper so they don't stick to each other.
When you are ready to eat them, heat up a pan on medium heat and spray a little bit of oil.
Fry each pattie for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until browned and a shell has formed.
Enjoy on a lightly toasted sesame bun with some sliced tomatoes, lettuce and onion, as well as some raita (yogurt with cucumber, cumin and salt)!
Ingredients:
2 bunches kale (any kind of kale you want, there are so many varieties to choose from! I went with the most common curly kale), destemmed
1 head broccoli, separated into florets and use the stem also by slicing it into discs and going down to the bottom until it becomes too tough to slice
2 sticks celery, rough chop
1 cup split moong lentils with the skin (soak in 1 cup hot water for 1 hour with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 2 tsp coriander pwd)
3 medium red potatoes, peeled and large diced
1 yellow or red onion, diced
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated and sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup unsalted or raw almonds, rough chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 large egg, beaten
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp coriander pwd
1 tbsp fennel pwd
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp biryani masala (if you don't have this on hand and are not planning on buying any, just use an extra tbsp of garam masala. Or if you feel like this might be too many spices for you, feel free to omit. I always err on the side of more spices because with burgers, the bun helps cut a lot of the spiciness. And you can also add a yogurt spread on the bun to cool your mouth down)
2 tbsp brown sugar
Salt to taste
4 cups of water
Oil to saute
Cook:
In a large, deep pot, boil the water on high heat.
Add potatoes and boil for 15 minutes or until done.
Remove cooked potatoes from water with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl to cool.
Add kale, broccoli florets and stems, and celery to the same water and boil for 5 minutes.
Remove from water with a slotted spoon and place in same bowl as potatoes and let cool.
Add the lentils and the water they were soaking in, as well as the fresh ginger to the same pot of boiling water the vegetables were cooked in. Make sure the lentils are submerged, if not add more water.
Turn heat down to medium and place lid on the pot. Cook for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a separate pan on medium heat and add oil.
Once oil is heated, add onions, garlic and the white part of the scallions and saute.
Once brown and caramelized, add the almonds, turmeric, cayenne pepper, coriander pwd, fennel pwd, garam masala and 1 tsp salt.
Turn heat down to low and saute for 5 minutes until spices are fragrant, but be careful not to burn.
Add onion/spice mixture to same bowl as all the vegetables and combine.
Once the lentils are cooked, add the brown sugar, 2 tsp salt and turn up the heat to evaporate any excess water. A little water in the pot is fine as that will help when blending all the ingredients.
Turn off the heat and add all the other separately cooked vegetables to the pot.
Using your immersion blender, blend the vegetables and lentils together to form a thick mixture. The mixture will stiffen as it cools, so don't worry too much if it looks a little too loose to form burgers. However, if you still feel there is a little too much water, you can turn the heat back on and try to evaporate some of the water. But again, as the mixture cools, it definitely stiffens quite a bit.
It is very difficult to adjust any seasonings once you form the patties, so make sure you taste the mixture before doing so and add anything you think is necessary.
If you find the mixture is just too spicy for your taste, you can boil an additional potato or two and mash it into the mixture.
Put the mixture in the refrigerator to cool for a couple of hours or so.
Once cooled, add the beaten egg and combine well.
Roll out 2 inch diameter balls with your hands and slightly flatten to create patties.
You can either freeze these patties and defrost for when you want to make the burgers. They can keep in the freezer for a good 6 months or until they become frosty. I like to separate them with little pieces of foil or parchment paper so they don't stick to each other.
When you are ready to eat them, heat up a pan on medium heat and spray a little bit of oil.
Fry each pattie for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until browned and a shell has formed.
Enjoy on a lightly toasted sesame bun with some sliced tomatoes, lettuce and onion, as well as some raita (yogurt with cucumber, cumin and salt)!
