Big Game Burger

Plant Based - vegan- In n Out style Burger

Larson Warkentin
Coto News
January 28, 20


Big Game Burger
                From Your Personal Chef                                                                                        Larson Warkentin                                                         
A Coto de Caza News Culinary Adventure
   
With the big game coming this Sunday we would like to offer you a burger that is as good if not better than the most popular burger around. With the request of Coto de Caza residents this burger will be all plant based. I’m sure you will have enough meat to go around on the big day so this burger will be a nice change that will impress your guests and tastes fantastic, leaving everyone not only feeling great but also wondering how vegan could be so good.
One fun thing about making the burgers yourself in your own home is you get to pick the toppings. With that we decided to add avocado and we are even working on a vegan bacon for our next batch of burgers. What is nice about the veggie patties is they can be used in multiple dishes such as chili cheese nachos. If you like you can contact me for a dairy free plant-based nacho cheese sauce or check back in a future article.

This burger has all the tastes and textures of the original with a vegan special sauce, crispy shoe string potato fries, butter lettuce, cherry tomatoes, plant-based patty and micro onion greens; all on a thin toasted whole wheat bun. This burger is so tasty and pure you won’t feel heavier tired after eating it so you will be able to sample more offerings and maybe play some football yourself. The avocado is a great addition with its creamy and rich taste. Once you have this burger you won’t want to go back.

This recipe will make 8 large patties and you can never have too much of this recipe. You can use these patties in any recipe that calls for beef and any extras will last up to a week in the refrigerator. These burgers are hearty, chewy and hold together well giving it a meat like texture and flavor. The recipe may seem a little time consuming but the finished product is worth it!

In a food processor blend 1 cup rolled oats into a flour and place in a bowl. Take 3 tbsp ground flax seed and mix with ½ cup water and add to bowl. Toast ½ cup walnuts and ½ cup sunflower seeds and hold on the side. In a pan with 2 tbsp olive oil start sautéing ½ onion, 2 cloves garlic and 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms for 4 minutes. Add ½ cup grated carrots and ½ a cup grated sweet potato, cook for 5 minutes. Add 1½ cups cooked lentils and 1 cup cooked chickpeas. Add toasted walnuts and sunflower seeds. Pulse mixture in food processor until everything is chopped, but still has some texture. Add mixture to the bowl. Mix everything together and add ¼ cup chopped parsley and ½ cup bread crumbs. Season the mixture with 2 tbsp. tamari, 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. black pepper and 1 tbsp. salt. Using wet hands so the mixture doesn’t stick to them, portion into 8 patties and place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper and sprayed with oil. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes then gently flip the patties over and bake for another 20 minutes. Let the patties cool before serving, this will allow them to firm up.
For the special sauce take ½ cup aquafaba, which is the water from cooked beans. The cooking water from the chickpeas works well. Put into blender with 1 tbsp mustard and 1 garlic clove. On high speed slowly blend in 1 ½ cups oil to make a mayonnaise. Chill for 1 hour. To turn the mayo into a special sauce take 1 cup mayo and mix in 4 tbsp. ketchup, 2 tbsp. diced onion, 1 tbsp. diced sweet gherkins and a little chili sauce for a kick.

For the crispy shoestring potatoes peel 1 potato and slice on a mandolin. Blanch in a large pot of water for 1 minute then strain and pat dry. Take a pot with ½ inch of oil and in batches fry the potatoes until golden brown and crispy.
Assemble the burger patty on top of a toasted whole wheat bun with special sauce then top the patty with butter lettuce, avocado, cherry tomatoes, micro onion greens or caramelized onions. Top it off with a pile of crispy potatoes and the other side of the bun with more sauce.

This burger is not only good for you, it is also non harming to animals and the environment. It tastes so great it can become the new favorite burger of Coto de Caza and is sure to be a touchdown at the big game party.
To see more of what we have been cooking, have any questions, or if you would like to try any of our specials, you can reach me at Chefjameslarson.com