This is a version of the Bosh Healthy Vegan Not-That-Naughty vegan burger. The burger blends very well due to the addition of the squash/sweet potato. Adding cooked grains adds substance to the vegan burger and gives it a denser texture than other vegan burgers I have tried. No egg is involved in binding the vegan burger. The first version I cooked with squash in place of the sweet potato and cooked quinoa instead of the rice. This recipe makes 2 burgers.
The smoky relish is a treat. Add to baked potatoes, cheese toasties as well as the vegan burger. It keeps in the fridge for a couple of days.
Ingredients
- For the Smokey Relish
- 1/2 small red onion peeled and diced
- 1 small clove of garlic peeled and diced/crushed
- 1 small red fresh chilli de-seeded and finely chopped
- 150g cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/2 lime
Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onions with a pinch of salt and fry for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for another minute and keep stirring. Then throw in the tomatoes, smoked paprika, tomato puree and soy sauce, give it all a good stir and and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the relish catching on the bottom of the pan. Add the maple syrup, remove from the heat and squeeze the lime juice into the sauce. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Wipe the pan clean as you can then use it to cook the burgers.
- Vegan Bean Burger Patties
- 130g sweet potato cubed
- 1/2 onion peeled and finely chopped (the other half from the relish)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 85g pre-cooked brown rice or other grain
- 1 tablespoon bread crumbs
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
- Pinch ground cumin
- Pinch garlic powder
- Pinch smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons plain flour
- 130g drained and rinsed black beans
Bake the sweet potato in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. (I throw mine into an air fryer or use left overs). When it is cooked add to a food processor along with rice, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, flour and black beans. Blitz to a paste then add to a bowl with the chopped onion. If you want to pre cook the onion you could do that whilst the sweet potato is cooking but I don’t bother.
Divide the mixture into 2 and shape into burgers. Place the patties in the frying pan with some olive oil and fry for a few minutes on each side until golden.
Assemble the burger with the relish in a bun of your choice – I like a wholemeal bap with cheese, lettuce and a slice of tomato and maybe a bit of red onion. Probably the best vegan burger I have made to date.
If you liked this recipe then you might like to try my cauliflower curry: https://cookingwithfi.com/thai-style-cauliflower-squash-lentil-curry/