We're headed out of town for the long weekend, so I'm going to let Tami do the cooking. Have you checked out her new book, Grills Gone Vegan
I love homemade veggie burger recipes because I can shape them to whatever size I want. I'm currently partial to a slightly generous slider-sized burger that I can cram into a fluffy dinner roll. This gives me more bun options, is better for kids, and perhaps most importantly, leaves me room for maximum side dish action.
We made Tami's Lemony Greek Barley Salad packed with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach and olives to accompany, and Paul enjoyed the leftovers for lunch all week.
A hot grill is also a great way to take care of any vegetables that you don't have plans for. We tossed a bunch of radishes, with their greens attached, into a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and threw them on the hot grill while the coals burned down a bit, and they were a revelation - charred and sweet and juicy.
How about you? What's on your Fourth of July Menu?
Tami's Black Bean Burgers
We hued pretty close to Tami's recipe, but then, in the heat of the moment, totally departed from her instructions when it came time to shape the patties and throw them on the grill. She writes, "For the best texture, be sure to cook these burgers until the outside has a blackened, crispy crust." To this end, she has you cook the patties in a hot cast iron skillet. We found that our smaller, kid-friendly burgers worked great right on the grill without fussing with an extra pan. If you want to make full size burgers, you might want to follow her instructions and cook them in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes per side.
Adapted from Tamasin Noyes's Grills Gone Vegan
makes: about 15 sliders or 6 burgers
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup bulgur
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup chopped crimini mushrooms
- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 1/3 cups vital wheat gluten
- 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
Pour the water over the bulgur, cover, and let sit for 1 hour until all the liquid is absorbed.
Put the beans, mushrooms, rice, onion, barbecue sauce, garlic, liquid smoke, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a food processor and pulse to combine and mince the garlic and onion. Add the vital wheat gluten and process until the mixture pulls away from the work bowl and gluten threads are visible, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the bulgur and knead it into the mixture, pressing it in if necessary.
Tear off six 12-inch pieces of foil, and then tear them in half. Plunk off golf ball size pieces of the burger mixture. Put each portion on a piece of foil and form into a patty about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Fold the foil around the patties, but don't seal it tightly, as the patties will expand during steaming. Steam for 30 minutes. Let cool. (At this point you can stick them in the fridge to use later or unwrap and freeze them.)
Preheat the grill over medium heat, rub a little oil over each patty to coat, cook until nicely charred, about 5 minutes per side.
Note: Tami includes both an indoor and outdoor method for cooking most all of the recipes. While the charcoal purist might balk at the panini grill-friendly recipes, you should know that you totally don't need a barbecue to dig this grilling book.
