Saturday 19 May 2012

Carrot burgers

These carrot burgers came about as a moment of spontaneity on my birthday evening last week. I shared these burgers for dinner with my mum, who proclaimed (after having eaten it all up) ‘oh I should have really cooked for you since it’s your birthday’, oh well….bit late now! Not that I minded, I think about food all day long and am always excited to try out something new when the idea strikes, this particular moment in time was no exception…birthday or not!

I’d had a pretty full on day…well, with the birthday cake under my belt (er, quite literally) I was in the mood for more of a light bite in the evening, so I served these burgers with salad and a simple tahini sauce. The perfect balmy summer dinner (balmy summer…I wish!) You could serve with a side of couscous for a more substantial meal.

The other great thing about these burgers is that they are pretty quick and simple to throw together and I’m pretty sure they could be frozen, although I haven’t tried. Add in your own favourite blend of spices, I used a cajun mix for a warm Mexican kick. I have also used red palm oil (as I like the deep yellow colour it gave to coat the burgers, but other oils would be absolutely fine. I like to add beans to things…most things, sweet or savoury! Beans or chickpeas give great texture, act as a binding ingredient and provide a good source of protein, so are a great base for many burgers.

If you have a thing for burgers, these recipes might also take your fancy:


Recipe: Carrot burgers

Makes approx. 6 burgers (depending on size)

Ingredients- burgers

300g carrots
200g chickpeas
1 small onion
1 tbs tahini
1 tbs ‘spices’ (I used a Cajun mix)
Extra salt to taste
50g oatmeal
1 tbs chia or flax plus 2 tbs hot water
1 tbs red palm oil (or other oil) for frying

Ingredients- tahini sauce

50g yoghurt of choice (or cashew yoghurt as I used)
2 tsp tahini
2 tbs lemon juice

Method

Coarsely chop the carrot and onion in a food processor and then add the chickpeas, tahini and spices and roughly mash through. Transfer the mixture to a sauce pan and cook for approx. 10 minutes stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

Once cooked, stir through the oatmeal and gelled chia/flax mixture. The mixture should be sticky but firm, if too sticky add a little more oatmeal. With wet hands form flat burger patties and fry them in a lightly oiled pan for a few minutes on each side until golden.

For the tahini sauce, mix all ingredients together well in a small bowl.

Drizzle burgers with tahini sauce and serve immediately.



For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

8 comments:

  1. These look so incredible. I cannot wait to try them!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Beth...go try them right now! :-)

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  2. these look awesome-- do you remember how many servings it made?

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    1. Hi Annie, good spot- I thought i'd given that info but obviously not! I've added it now, I believe it made 6 burgers (althought of course that depends on the size).

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  3. what can i use in place of tahini..i don't recall seeing it sold in canada??..thx..i love any vegan burgers..loves ya

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    1. Hi Gail, I make my own tahini by grinding up sesame seeds, but you could use any nut or seed butter instead. Tahini is quite bitter so you may wat to add a touch of lemion juice too.

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  4. I just made these, I can't get them to stay together but they were tasty nonetheless. Is there a secret to it?

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    Replies
    1. Hi, i didn't have much trouble in getting to them to hold as the blended chickpeas seemed to do the job pretty well. Did you allow your ground flax or chia to sit for a bit and 'gell' first, I often find that helps a lot in recipes. You could always increase the chia/flax a little if necessary. Glad you found them tasty!

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