Ingredients
Burger ingredients
- 1 x 400g tin of kidney/black beans
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 150g oyster mushrooms (or any other mushrooms)
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 3 tablespoons tamari/soy sauce
- 100g breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast*
To serve
- Hummus/vegan mayo
- Sweet chilli ketchup/pesto
- A couple of slices of vegan cheese (optional)
- Lettuce leaves
- Tomato slices
- Red onion slices
- Ripe avocado slices
* Available from health food shops or online
Method
Quick, easy to make, super-tasty, moreish – we are aware that’s quite a promise, but these burgers will deliver! It’s hard to get good-quality breadcrumbs, so we usually make our own by putting a few slices of decent bread into the food processor for a few minutes until they turn to crumbs. It is really worth seeking out the nutritional yeast, as it gives a nice distinct flavour, and a couple of slices of vegan cheese, while not essential, takes these burgers to the next level.
1. Drain and rinse the beans. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Chop the mushrooms very finely.
2. Put 2 tablespoons of oil into a frying pan on a high heat. Once hot, add the onion and garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further minute. Now add the tamari, and fry for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Put the breadcrumbs, beans and nutritional yeast into a bowl and mix well. Add the mushroom mixture to the same bowl and mix. Leave to cool for a minute, then use your hands or a wooden spoon to mash and mix everything together. Shape this mixture into 3 burger-shaped patties, making sure to really compress them so as to remove as much moisture as possible.
4. The patties are now ready to cook. We usually fry them in the pan in the remaining tablespoon of oil for 2 minutes on each side, until they go golden. You can also bake them in the oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 for 10 minutes, or throw them on the barbecue.
5. Serve in toasted burger buns with hummus/mayo on the bottom of the bun, sweet chilli ketchup/pesto on the top and any of the other topping options you fancy.
Recipe extracted from The Happy Pear: Recipes for Happiness, by David and Stephen Flynn.
The Happy Pear's new range of vegan products, including Sweet Beet Hummus, Lovely Basil Pesto and Sundried Tomato Pesto are available exclusively at Waitrose.
Visit our vegan recipe section for more plant-based recipe ideas