Thursday 23 October 2014

Watercourse Foods Tempeh Burger

I would love to tell you I decided to make an Aussie burger in dedication to the great Gough Whitlam, former Australian Prime Minister, who died this week.  Sadly I was not so organised.  I searched my cookbooks, found a recipe where I had the ingredients - well I had arame but not onion - and threw it together.  The first night I served the burgers on toast.  The second night I served it more traditionally in a bun.

I did not choose the recipe because it was quick and easy.  It took a while.  It presented challenges.  The wild rice didn't go soft.  Measuring arame was hard so I eyeballed it.  My tempeh comes in a bigger package (which I have recorded in the recipe).  I meant to blend some of the mixture with my hand held blender as a nod towards the recipe that said to blend half of it.  But I forgot.  The mixture held together anyway.

It was a warm day and my oven would never have done the burgers justice in 20 minutes so I fried them.  I had visions of lovely sides but they were substantial and my energy was low.  So it was a humble affair on toast the first night.  Then I bought some garlic focaccia buns.  (A little fancier than the burger with the lot that would have been in vogue at the time of Gough Whitlam!  And who would have had a vegetarian burger at that time.)

Not only did I have buns on the second night but I also had some biocheese from a visit to Mad Cowgirls Vegan Groceries.  You can see how lovely and melty it is with a little time under the grill (broiler).  I also grilled and buttered the buns.  A little trick I learnt from my mum.  It makes a difference.  Then I added tomato sauce, the cheese topped burger, tomato slices, lettuce and beetroot (from a tin).  It was only later I thought that fried onions would have been great.  However it was so filling and so delicious that they weren't necessary.

I ate the bun with my hands.  It was so good.  Probably would have tasted even better if Sylvia hadn't lain down and gone to sleep halfway through her dinner.  That was worrying.  I think we are all a bit under the weather this week. Am sure the burgers are full of healthy stuff that will help us along.  And they tasted delicious.  (Yes, delicious - do not be afraid of the tempeh!)  Really intense and tasty, a little umami and lots of interesting texture.

And now for some random notes:
  • I sang at an event with the Victorian Trade Union Choir at RMIT Story Hall where Gough Whitlam was a guest of honour.  It was a long time ago but I still treasure the memory.  For a prime minister who was given the sack, he achieved a huge amount of change to make Australia a better place.
  • Sylvia asked me recently if we had electricity and water when I was young.  I guess she thought it was a great day when we discovered water and finally had a drink and a wash.
  • Christmas decorations are creeping into the shops.  So soon!  We have sent our Christmas presents to E's family in Scotland.  Although we missed the Australia Post deadline that guarantees they will be there on time.  And after they went I found a few things that should have gone in the package!  I am still glad to have sent off the parcel.
  • As a nut roast enthusiast I am delighted that Nik at The Peace Patch has designated today National Nut Roast Day and featured my blog. 

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Pancakes, Mellow Music and Family Get-togethers
Two years ago: Raspberry Oat Slice and Craft Show and Tell
Three years ago: Vegan pad see ew - with tofu omelette
Four years ago: Potluck, Salad and Car Trouble
Five years ago: Vegan feta crackers for sleepless nights
Six years ago: My Personal Vegetarian 100 List

Watercourse Foods Tempeh Burger
Adapted from Veggie Burgers Every Which WayRecipe online here
Makes 6 burgers

1/2 cup wild rice
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped (I used spring onion, finely sliced)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/2 red capsicum, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp fennel
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper (I used 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning)
300g tempeh
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp arame, rehydrated, drained and chopped
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 cup chickpea flour
2-3 tbsp rice bran oil (or other neutral oil) for frying

Cook wild rice in a small saucepan with 1 and 1/2 cups of water until soft and cooked (about 40 to 50 minutes) and for another 10 minutes until mushy.  Cool. 

Meanwhile heat oil in a large frypan over medium heat.  Fry onion, carrot, celery and red capsicum for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.  Stir for about a minute.  Crumble in the tempeh and add lemon juice, soy sauce, vinegar, liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook another 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and set aside until cool enough to touch.  Use your hands to mix in cooked wild rice, arame, nutritional yeast and chickpea flour.

Form mixture into about 6 patties with your hands, using a little water to keep them damp so the mixture does not stick to you.  Heat frypan over medium high heat and add 1-2 tbsp of oil.  Fry patties for 3-5 minutes each side or until golden brown on both sides.  Add a little extra oil if needed.

On the Stereo:
Home ... where the music is: Taliska

26 comments:

  1. I saw all the mince pies a little while ago in the supermarkets. Which reminds me, maybe this will be the year I make mince pies. My favourites were always Bakers Delight, pre-vegan. Your burgers look fabulous and I agree with toasting and buttering the buns, though I never do it myself (and always regret it!). I hope Sylvia is feeling well!

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    1. Thanks Veganopoulous - home made mince pies are the best - but BD ones are pretty good. It was only when my mum did it recently that I remembered how good it is - I never usually do it. Sylvia back at school today (fingers crossed she is better)

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  2. Now that's one healthy looking burger Johanna! I haven't attempted anything with tempeh but I'm going to one day. I'm also going to try one of your nut roasts too:)

    I do hope Sylvia is feeling better. The stores are starting to show signs of Christmas here too. Way to early if you ask me, UG. I'm glad I don't have to send anything to far it would never make it in time. I've all to do to send gifts to Idaho!!!

    Thanks for sharing, Johanna, looks delicious...

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    1. Thanks Louise - I enjoy tempeh but I know some people don't like it - I think if you find some good recipes for it, you will love it - this recipe has such strong flavours that it works well. The good thing about sending gifts early is that it makes it easier closer to Christmas to have less gifts to worry about but it is hard to get into the spirit of it right now.

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  3. I am definitely not ready for Christmas. And I'm overseas and had not heard of Gough Whitlam's passing - they certainly don't make politicians like him anymore. RIP.

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    1. Thanks Lorraine - agree with you about Gough - we need some leaders like him now.

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  4. That sure looks like a great burger! I've had biocheese once, and thought it was pretty good melted but haven't had it since - the picture makes me want to go out and grab another block. I thought for sure before I read the caption that it was non-vegan cheese! Billy always toasts burger buns in a pan beforehand too - it's his favourite.

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    1. Thanks Caeli - biocheese is great - I think it is the best vegan cheese I have tasted. My problem is that I love it so much I tend to hoard it rather than using it.

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  5. These burgers look and sound delicious - they would be a lovely tribute to Whitlam and I think could still be claimed as such even if the intention wasn't there to start with! It is amazing how much he did in such a short space of time; quite different to politicians today it would seem.

    Christmas is appearing here too but now I'm panicked I should have sent things home already! Shall investigate postage...

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    1. Thanks Kari - it is amazing what Gough did - I actually see some similarities to Tony Blair (because I am back reading the Blair autobiography) but I can't imagine all these changes in such a short time happening today, much as I dream about it :-)

      We send out parcels airmail to save money and the Australia Post date is always in September but our parcels usually arrive quite early - so I hope ours might get there in time. Royal Mail seems to always get here quicker than Australia Post takes so you might have time still.

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  6. The burger sounds super delicious. I suck at making burgers sadly, but maybe I'll give this one a try. The bun sounds amazing too! Mmmm.

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    1. Thanks Kimmy - you just need to practice at burgers - I often don't get my act together to serve them in a bun but I think my burger patties have improved over time.

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  7. Yum, this burger sounds delish. I have been humming the "It's Time" jingle all week - it is quite catchy - although I learned it as an adult as I am not old enough to remember the campaign. I can't believe Australia Post are not guaranteeing that a package will get to Scotland by Christmas now - that is absurd. I ordered shoes from London for our Christmas party last year and they arrived within a week.

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    1. Thanks Cakelaw - 'It's time' is quite catchy indeed - I don't remember gough when he was in power but I guess he was a presence in Australia as I grew up. Our packages went sea mail - because it costs us half the price for postage - if we sent our presents aiirmail they could be sent a lot closer to Christmas - but I think they give quite generous cut off times even with sea mail.

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  8. I love homemade veggie burgers and this looks like a stonkingly good one! Never tried tempeh before. It's not something that is used much in the UK. Well Scotland anyway.

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    1. Thanks Jac - can't remember if I used tempeh much when I lived in Scotland but I am sure it must be about there. We can get it in the supermarket here sometimes. It can be good for making meals with a really meaty texture - the tempeh and pumpkin lasagne I made with tempeh crumble is probably one of my favourite tempeh recipes

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  9. What a wonderful array of ingredients. These sound really delicious! Now Tempeh I have had many times and loved it. But 'liquid smoke'? That's a new one on me! And I'm definitely with you on grilling and buttering burger buns! Always!!!!

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    1. Thanks Kate - I am in love with liquid smoke but before I could find it I used to just use smoked paprika - I recently found an Australian liquid smoke and was really excited as I think most of the others I have found were American.

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  10. I've only just started using liquid smoke. It's definitely a new ingredient for me. I also can't believe Christmas decorations are now in the stores but when you think about it, there's only 8 Fridays until Christmas - it is going to come around very quickly xx

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    1. Thanks Charlie - liquid smoke is amazing. and yep Christmas will be here before we know it - but 8 fridays! argh!!!!!!

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  11. This sounds like a fantastic recipe. I have some arame I ner use. Now I feel that this was a good thing. I want to try your burger!

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    1. Thanks Mihl - I was surprised that the seaweed I had was arame because it never seems to be the right seaweed so finally it turned up trumps for me. Enjoy the burger

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  12. I'm still learning to love tempeh, but there's so much interesting stuff in these burgers, I am seriously tempted. Could you taste the arame? Those buns are also getting much drooling from this direction.

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  13. That burger looks sooooo good! I haven't had luck in finding a good solid burger recipe - some patties fell apart, too soggy or just soft. I've made burger patties using mushroom & cheese before, that's about it. Arame!? What an interesting addition to the burger recipe - that’s so cool that the recipe calls for sea kelp…I have never seen this before! The garlic focaccia buns look pretty good to me - I can’t believe there are garlic foccacia buns! Interesting cheeze, it looks pretty melty after being broiled!

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  14. Wow these burgers look fantastic!!

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  15. I love veggie burgers but have never tried any with tempeh.
    They look like they hold together really really well.
    Though I just have to say that I prefer my burger buns not toasted lol ;-)
    And everything is awesome with fried onions, they definitely would be an awesome addition to this burger :-)

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