Tuesday, 31 March 2009

Broccoli Burgers are Winners

It should have been no surprise that broccoli makes excellent burgers. It is one of my favourite vegetables but I would never have though to put it into burgers.

These burgers are winners! Literally! I found this burger recipe a couple of years ago in an article on a competition for the best vegetarian burgers. A vegetarian burger competition sounds excellent. Now imagine being a judge if all the burgers were as good as these! I made a few changes but mostly followed the recipe and it is indeed inspired. The finely chopped broccoli cooks in the oven and the burgers hold together well – despite a few cracks when cooking.

My main disappointment was that the raw burgers had specks of purple onion and green broccoli but the cooked burgers had a crispy golden skin and were pale inside. It is helpful for anyone wanting to hide broccoli in the burgers but less pleasing for those of us who love colour in a meal.

I served the burgers with mashed potato and pumpkin with promite and topped with pineapple and banana chutney. It tasted great but all looked a bit golden-orange with not a jot of green in sight. In fact it tasted so good that when faced with a choice of leftover burgers or curry, E went for the burgers. Definitely a winning recipe!

Broccoli and Hazelnut Burgers
(adapted from Rhonda’s Broccoli Burgers)
Serves 3-4

2 eggs
2 cups well chopped broccoli
⅔ cup ground toasted hazelnuts
1 finely chopped red onion
⅔ cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 handful grated cheese (optional)
¼ cup water
Salt and pepper, to taste
Oil spray for baking

Mix all ingredients and check seasoning. Use hands to shape into burger sized patties (I made 7) and place on baking sheet lined with baking paper. Spray with oil and bake 30 minutes at 180 C. Flip burgers over and spray with oil. Bake an additional 30 minutes. Serve hot.

On the Stereo:
Absent Friends – Divine Comedy
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20 comments:

  1. Katie31 March 2009 at 18:05

    These sound great. I would never have thought of putting brocolli in a burger either - guess you never know until you try.

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  2. Lisa Turner1 April 2009 at 04:30

    Those do sound good! I haven't made vegetarian burgers in a while, and never would have thought to add broccoli either, but clearly, worth a try.

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  3. Lysy1 April 2009 at 05:08

    Isn't broccoli amazing?! I've been using it recently in pasta soups and the Vegan With a Vengeance casserole that I think you posted about too. These burgers look like another inspired find!

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  4. Lucy1 April 2009 at 09:25

    They look sensational!

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  5. bunchesmcginty1 April 2009 at 15:15

    That's my kind of food on a Wednesday!

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  6. frances2 April 2009 at 06:28

    these look amazing - i love the green and purple in the uncooked patties too. my little one has strangely decided that he doesn't eat 'trees' anymore, so this could be the thing to get them back into him. thanks for a great idea (and I can't believe you are making burgers with a tiny bub in tow!)

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  7. Kiran2 April 2009 at 08:46

    Thanks for sharing the great recipe, I normally make bean with mixed veg or potato burgers. It is always good to try out a new varieties of vegetarian burgers. Hope you are doing well with your baby :)

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  8. jb2 April 2009 at 15:05

    These sound great, and the picture of the raw burger is so pretty!

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  9. Jacqueline Meldrum2 April 2009 at 21:16

    Those burgers sound good, as does the whole meal! It is a pity the colour didn't show up quite so well in the finished result, but as long as they were tasty.

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  10. Johanna GGG2 April 2009 at 23:19

    Thanks Katie - it seemed a great idea when I did find it but would not have though of it either

    thanks Lisa - these burgers are worth a try

    thanks Lysy - glad you have been enjoying your broccoli - hope you enjoyed the casserole

    thanks Lucy

    thanks Bunches

    thanks Frances - this might be a good way to get more trees in his diet but hope he realises how wonderful broccoli is soon

    Thanks Kiran - I love a new idea for burgers - am doing ok with baby - although some nights are still tiring

    Thanks Jodye - I loved the colours in the raw burger too

    thanks Holler - the taste was excellent

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  11. Ricki2 April 2009 at 23:27

    What a fabulous combination! Sorry you lost the GREEN of the raw burger when cooked! ;)

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  12. MyKitchenInHalfCups3 April 2009 at 00:31

    I really love the sound of these! Are they moist ? but they must be if they're so good. Do you think they'd work as meat balls? I would think they might be really fun as "a little bite".
    I can see what you mean about the color when uncooked - they're beautiful but look like just a burger when cooked:)

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  13. Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella5 April 2009 at 11:15

    I am one of those people that absolutely loves broccoli but I've never seen it in a burger. Great idea! I definitely want to try it :)

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  14. Johanna GGG6 April 2009 at 12:04

    Thanks Ricki - yes the colour was a shame - I had hoped they would be very green! I had even considered adding some spinach for more green

    Thanks Tanna - they are soft but not terribly moist - I agree they would work well as little appetiser balls

    Thanks Lorraine - hope you get to try it - I will definitely be doing it again

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  15. eatme_delicious12 April 2009 at 03:02

    Ooo these look good! I would've been disappointed by the loss of colour when cooking them too. Thanks for the link to all those burger recipes. I really need to make vegetarian burgers more often!! Also, I just emailed you about the nut roast so hopefully you got that email.

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  16. Jules27 August 2009 at 03:14

    I made a version of these burgers from dinner tonight (but without the nuts) and both carnivore Hubby & I loved them. They will be appearing again soon in our weekday dinners.

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  17. Anonymous9 October 2011 at 21:06

    I need to eat more broccoli so this should be a good way to eat it :)

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  18. Roni25 January 2012 at 21:16

    I made these for my anti-broccoli toddler today and oh yum! All I could think of while the aroma of them cooking filled the air was - I wish I had some beetroot chutney! Yum, Thanks for sharing!

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  19. David11 February 2012 at 10:57

    I just made these tonight and WOW. All I can say is thank goodness there are more burgers waiting for me in the kitchen because I've already devoured two and I love them! Great recipe--thank you!!

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  20. Anonymous31 July 2012 at 08:02

    I would suggest blanching the broccoli before cooking it to preserve the green color, that might help.

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