Smashed Cabbage and Mushroom Veggie Burgers
This vegetarian burger patty is inspired by a love for caramelized cabbage. It isn’t a conventional burger patty made of grains and beans. Instead, cabbage and mushrooms lend a crunchy, slightly meaty texture that is hearty and reminiscent of okonomiyaki, and the patty is held together with chickpea flour. The recipe for the patty is gluten-free and, if you opt for a gluten-free bun (and your soy sauce is gluten-free), the whole dish can become fully gluten-free.
- Total:
- Serves: 6 persons
Ingredients
- 1large egg
- 1cup/115 grams chickpea flour
- 1cup water
- 1tablespoon soy sauce
- 1garlic clove, grated
- 1medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- ¼small head green cabbage, core removed and leaves thinly shredded (about 3 cups/8 ounces)
- ½pound mixed mushrooms, such as oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms, tough stems removed, caps torn into bite-size pieces
- 1tablespoon sesame seeds
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½cup vegetable oil
- 6Cheddar cheese slices
- 6brioche buns
- Mayonnaise, sliced tomatoes, bread and butter pickles, and butter lettuce, for serving
Instructions
Step 1
In a large bowl, whisk together egg, chickpea flour, water, soy sauce and garlic. Add onion, cabbage, mushrooms and sesame seeds; season with 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Using your hands, massage the cabbage mixture to evenly coat with the chickpea batter. Cover and let the mixture sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Juices from the vegetables will leach out and make the batter slightly wetter.Step 2
Divide the cabbage mixture into 6 portions (about 1 1/2 cups each).Step 3
Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a large cast-iron pan over medium-low heat. Cook 3 portions at a time, coaxing each patty together in the pan and compressing them with a flat spatula. Gently fry the patties, without disturbing them, until one side is golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until the golden brown and the vegetables are cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the patties from the pan onto a wire rack. Add remaining 1/4 cup oil to the pan and cook the remaining 3 portions.Step 4
Place a slice of cheese on each cooked vegetable patty and allow the residual heat from the patties to melt the cheese. Serve sandwiched between buns, topping with mayonnaise, tomatoes, bread and butter pickles, and lettuce.