Its burger time!
I don’t know about most of you, but for me whenever I would indulge in a big fat juicy burger, I would have a sense of satisfaction and complete bliss, until a couple hours later I felt all groggy and guilty for having overindulged. I mean I am for sure no preacher on not breaking the diet, or indulging in a craving, I think if you desire something you should always go for it, the worst thing you can do is deprive yourself, this of course being in moderation.
So last night was one of those nights that I was really craving something a bit naughty, and burgers came into mind. I wanted to keep it on the healthier side, so I opted for a vegan burger. Sometimes with veggie burger patties, the taste is bland and honestly tastes too much like vegetables that it takes the whole real burger tasting experience away. I found a recipe that used more neutral tasting veggies for the patty, so I thought this was something I could start my vegan burger mission with.
Now how this burger recipe came to me, I will need to make a small side note here, and it’s about the amazing thing that is buffalo sauce. Here in Germany for some unknown reason to me, this flavour has not made it into the general market. You cannot get a buffalo styled chicken wing at any major restaurant in Germany. I have tried going to American type restaurants, such as Hard Rock Café, and there they do make the real buffalo wings, but at a price. As I always crave this sauce, I decided to go full out and order 2 big jugs of it off amazon. After the sauce arrived at my doorstep and is probably the most expensive sauce known to mankind, I knew I had to use it.
I decided to make not only vegan veggie burgers, but buffalo styled vegan veggie burgers.
If this is not a genius idea, then I do not know what is. I just can not stand the idea of because you decide to go full vegetarian or vegan, or even just try to opt for the healthier versions of your favourite meals, you need to sacrifice the taste.
No way! Not with this recipe!
I have to say these burgers turned out perfectly. The hint of buffalo gave it that extra punch I was looking for, and since I had decided to make a dill mayo to go with the tanginess of the buffalo pattie, it complimented the taste beautifully.
Now the final statement of approval came later that evening, my husband came back from a business trip and had this majestic little beauty waiting for him, and once he took a big bite in his vegan burger (also he is not vegan) he said, and I quote, that this was one of the best burgers he ever had, with a comment like that, I could now hang my apron up for the night.
Buffalo Vegan Burger
1 small sweet potato, shredded
400g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1/3 cup buffalo sauce (I use Franks, but any hot sauce you like will do the trick)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
In a mixer add the sweet potaoto, chickpeas, buffalo sauce, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and pulse until you have a smooth consistency. If you do not want it to be completely smooth you can leave a couple of chunks in your mixture.
Once mixed, move your mixture to a bowl and add your flour. Fold in the flour evenly. This mixture will make about 4 patties. Shape your patties and put into the freezer for about 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes you can either grill the patties on your BBQ grill for about 5-7 minutes on each side or fry them in a pan. If you fry them, grab a large pan and add your oil. Once hot add your patties and scorch them on each side at high heat. Once browned, reduced the heat to medium low and continue to cook on each side until the pattie is fully cooked. (depending on the size of pattie, this can take up to 10 minutes on each side, make sure the heat is low, so you do not burn your patties)
Remove the patties from the pan or grill and start assembling your burger.
Vegan Dill Mayo
1 cup vegan mayo
1 pouch salad herbs (I used the ones from Knorr)
½ lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Add and mix all of your ingredients in a bowl and put into the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble your burger.
