The Vegemite burger and random notes

One of the best fast food burgers I ever had was from Burger King on a trip there in 1996.  They no longer do the burger.  So I am always on the look out for a copy cat recipe.  Hence my interest in the vegan Burger King by Mouthwatering Vegan.  Then I saw the marmite and chili quarterpounder by The Veg Space.  I was inspired to try a similar style burger with vegemite.  It was amazing.

The mixture was both vegan and gluten free.  It was a bit fragile but mostly managed to stay together.  I really loved how much the mixture tasted of vegemite despite me using less than The Veg Space's marmite.  Marmite is a little sweeter after all.  Vegemite is unrelentingly salty as a few unsuspecting foreigners have discovered.  A little is advisable on a piece of toast.  A lot of vegemite works well in the burgers.  It was less discernable in the final product.

When I was a kid we mostly had burgers as an alternative to sausages at a BBQ.  We would eat them on fluffy white bread with lots of tomato sauce.  However occasionally my dad bought a burger with the lot from a fish and chip shop instead of flake (yep shark in batter).  This was before MacDonalds had hit our shores.  Though I am not sure I ever had one of these burgers myself I still see them in fish and chip shops and get nostalgic for them occasionally.

Or perhaps my nostalgia is for when my mum made burgers.  She made me burgers a year or two ago and her way of toasting the buns made me feel quite nostalgic though I don't have strong memories of eating them as a kid.  What I know is that I have a soft spot for the Aussie style of burgers with the lot.  So we ate ours with cheese (Biocheese is a great vegan alternative), tomato, lettuce, tinned beetroot and fried onions.  (With not enough energy to add the egg nor certainty whether pineapple is usually included.)  It also works with toasted bread but it is not as amazing as the buns.

The mixture keeps well in the fridge for a few days.  I made it last week and loved it.  Then I was sick the next day and had to wait to make it again.  We still had some on the weekend.  It was a delicious and easy meal after a hectic day that started with an emergency call to a plumbers and then found us in the afternoon in a supermarket with their EFTPOS and credit card facilities down.  To add injury to insult while we went to get cash from an ATM, someone stole our doughnuts.  We really needed the doughnuts but at least we had the burgers.

Random notes:

• Sylvia and school friend were chatting.  Friend said she was grown up now and got angry at her teacher.  I asked Sylvia if she did.  No, she replied, she's pretty.

• You might notice the Aboriginal flag on the burger alongside the Australian flag.  I was so annoyed at so few Aboriginal flags on Australia Day and then noticed there were very few on my blog too and wanted to make more effort to include the Aboriginal flag in Australian posts.  I regret to say this was was drawn up in a hurry while the burger cooked but I hope it will put me on the right path to recognising Aboriginal Australia more.

• I had a dream a while back about a tofu bacon and vegan cheese sandwich.  Then in that half conscious state between sleep and waking I had visions of the Vegan Past where everyone ate ominvore cheese and bacon sandwiches, the Vegan Present where some have discovered the vegan alternative, and the Vegan Future where everyone ate vegan sandwiches.  Perhaps it is the effect of too many Smith and Deli sandwiches!

I am sending these burgers to Healthy Vegan Fridays #87, Meat Free Mondays and Cook Once Eat Twice.

More vegan burgers at Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Cauliflower burgers (gf v)
Quinoa and sun-dried tomato burgers (gf, v) 
Sweet potato, chickpea and hemp seed burgers (v)
Tamale burgers with mole sauce (gf, v)
Watercourse Foods tempeh burger (gf,v)

The Vegemite Burger
Adapted from The Veg Space and Mouthwatering Vegan
Makes 6 burgers

olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
150g button mushrooms, finely chopped
400g tin brown lentils, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup (200g) cooked brown rice
2 tbsp vegemite (or other yeast extract)
1 tbsp tahini
1 tsp old bay seasoning (or other seasoning mix)
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
2 tbsp besan flour - more
extra flour, for dusting

Serving suggestion: burger bun, cheese, lettuce, tomato, tinned beetroot slices, fried onions, tomato sauce, and mayonnaise.

Fry onion and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat until softening.  Add mushrooms and cook until any juices evaporate and the mushrooms are dark and aromatic.

Meanwhile mash lentils and brown rice.  Mash in the onion and mushroom mixture once it is cooked.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Use hands to shape into flat patties.

Fry burgers in a couple of spoonfuls of olive oil over medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until deep brown.  Flip over, being careful as they can be a bit fragile.  Cook another 4-5 minutes until well browned on the other side.

Serving suggestion: Toast burger buns, (butter if you like it) spread one half with tomato sauce and the other with mayo, melt cheese on burger if desired, pile buns with burger, cheese, lettuce, tomato, beetroot, fried onions and eat with a hearty appetite.

On the stereo:
Folk Music in America:  Vol 13: Songs of Humour and Childhood: Library of Congress Collection