Having decided to eat less meat, I have been looking for a good alternative to a burger. When I say ‘good alternative’, I mean, something you can get your teeth into that has good flavor and texture.
To this end, to start off with, I convinced Mr. B and my foodie friend to try one of New York’s best rated vegan burgers, Superiority Burger. This was rated as one of New York’s top burgers, full stop, so as you can imagine we had high expectations. A little like English sparkling wine winning against champagne in blind tastings, whilst you’re secretly a little smug about it, you don’t really believe it.
Superiority Burger, which was similar to your traditional bean burger, at least within the opinion of our population of three didn’t quite live up to the hype or the 20-minute queue. I therefore felt obligated to investigate good alternatives and after a number of attempts, this is our favorite recipe. The mushrooms bring an earthy note and meaty depth, the Quinoa the protein and the sweet potato binds the patty nicely and means you don’t need egg.
Mr. B loved this version and ate his in gluten free buns with some mustard and lettuce. I in turn, used the lettuce as my bun. Both versions were tasty and filling.
Ingredients
- 1sweet potato
- 1 cup of mushrooms (chopped)
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (from about ½ uncooked)
- ¾ cup almond meal
- 4 Gluten free burger buns
- Coconut oil
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180c/350f
- Prick sweet potato all over with a fork; rub with 1 Tbsp. oil, then season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, 30–45 minutes. Let cool. Remove and discard skin; mash flesh with a fork. Set aside.
- Wash mushrooms and chop mushrooms and shallot.
- Heat 1 Tbsp. coconut oil on low heat, cook shallot and paprika, stirring often, until shallot is soft, about 2 minutes. Add mushroom and cook, for around 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; mix in quinoa and season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
- Add almond meal and half of the mashed sweet potato to quinoa mixture and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. If mixture is too loose, add more sweet potato to bind.
- Divide mixture into 4 portions and form into patties, pressing firmly together with your hands.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spray coconut oil on the sheet or brush sheet if using liquid form
- Cook burgers, since all the ingredients are cooked, we are only really looking for the ingredients to bind at this stage to form a solid patty. This should take less than 5 minutes each side.
- Build burgers with patties, gluten free buns and toppings of your choice.
