Mushroom Veggie Burger

Ok.. I promise to post a photo, soon. Anyway - Brandon and I decided to try something new this weekend... I guess the sun peaking out and giving us some 70+ degree weather for the first weekend of March sparked a desire to cook something you'd want to eat at a bbq. Being the vegetarian that he is, we couldn't just cook burgers! So he did some researching and found a youtube video for a mushroom burger that looked simple and delicious. Simple being the key word here. Seems most veggie burger recipes call for 15+ ingredients and by the time you purchase everything you need, you may as well have gone out for dinner... not to mention the time involved with chopping all the veggies (something much easier if you have a large food processor with the shredding blade attached). SO... on to the recipe. I promise, its really simple... you just have to be a little patient with it. We also improvised, so I'll do my best to recreate the recipe for you guys.

Mushroom Veggie Burger
serves 4-5

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2lb mushrooms, sliced & chopped (we used a combo of crimini and button)
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3T olive oil
• 2/3c rolled oats (though we left these out b/c we didn't have any on hand)
• 1/2c shredded or grated parmesan (calls for shredded, but we only had grated)
• 3/4c bread crumbs (plain)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2t dried oregano
• 2t worcestershire sauce (not called for, but we added for flavor)
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1. We chopped some of our mushrooms up in a food processor, and then chopped the others in bigger chunks, to give some texture. So you will add all your mushrooms to a large sautee pan with about 2T of olive oil in it. You'll also add the onions and garlic at this time. Add about 1t of salt and 1/2t of pepper and cook over medium heat. The salt is important as it will draw out the moisture from the mushrooms. You'll need to continue to cook this over medium to medium/high heat for at least 15 minutes. It may take more or less time depending on your stove, but you want all the moisture to cook out and the mushrooms become dry.. no water in the pan! While these are cooking, add in your other seasonings such as the dried oregano and worcestershire.
   
2. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and put in a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, oats, and parmesan to the mushrooms and stire to combine. The mixture will look kinda like sand and mud. Yeah - looks delicious! mmmm! Once the mixture has cooled a little, add the beaten egg and stir to combine. At this point, it is important to let the mixture rest for 15 minutes to allow the breadcrumbs to absorb the liquids and helps the mixture come together.
   
3. Heat 1-2T olive oil over medium head in large sautee pan. Form patties from the mushroom mixture, you should get 4.. but you may get 5 or 6 depending on how big you want them to be. We made 4 patties from this. This is a very sticky process! So once you've formed all your patties, add them to the hot oil and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side. You'll want the patties to have a good crispy crust formed on the bottom before flipping it over, so that way it will stay intact.
   
4. Once they're done cooking, set them on a paper towel lined plate to drain and top with cheese at this point if you'd like.
   
5. Get your favorite bun, toast it.. and top it with the fixins (we made a chipotle mayo, using some canned chipotle peppers and some mayo.. added a nice hint of smoky heat to the burgers)
6. Make sure to serve with your favorite bbq side items... potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, etc.
   

So there ya have it. Its really simple - and you'd be amazed at how much it will remind you of biting into a big juicy cheeseburger.. because this is actually juicy! I'm excited because it made 4 burgers, so tonight I'm gonna eat my 2nd one! I hope you guys take the time to make these sometime, they're soo worth it. And if you want to watch the youtube video you can find it here:


Mushroom Veggie Burger from Foodwishes on Vimeo.

Posted by LAUREN! woo