Recipe Grated carrot and chickpea burgers

MrsDangermouse

MrsDangermouse

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These burgers were delicious, if you make small ones then they'd make good canapés too.



400g grated carrots
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
75g dried chickpeas (cooked, or 2/3 of a 400g tin of chickpeas, drained)
1.5 tsp ground corriander
2 tbsp fresh corriander, chopped
1 medium egg
1 tbsp plain flour
Salt & Pepper to taste

  • Fry 2/3 of the grated carrot in a little oil (I used ghee) for about 10 mins
  • Using a food processor whizz the rest of the grated carrot, onion, garlic, chickpeas, ground and fresh corriander, and the egg into a paste. Season well.
  • Add the fried grated carrot to the paste, along with the flour and mix well.
  • Divide into 4 and shape into burger shapes (wet your hands first to stop it sticking)
  • Cover and chill for at least 30 mins
  • When you're ready to cook them, remove from the fridge and brush with a little oil (or ghee) before grilling or BBQing for about 5 mins on each side until golden and crisp
  • Serve on a lightly toasted brioche bun, with a splodge of chive crème fraîche and top with baby spinach
I cooked them in a non-stick frying pan because I thought they were too soft to grill. They did show signs of breaking up when I flipped them so I think that they'd definitely have stuck to a grill pan.

The flavour of these was really nice, but I thought they were a bit too mushy and they didn't go as crispy as I was imagining. The mixture was quite wet though and I think it probably needed to be a lot drier. Maybe next time I'll add more chickpeas or less egg. I also think a bit of chilli would work really well in them.

PS. I used half orange carrots and half yellow carrots, so don't be surprised if your version comes out more orange!
 
That burger looks excellent - I really must try this recipe. I'd be inclined to add some spices to that burger mix (but that's me).
 
I kept the first try (pretty much) as per the original recipe and actually they're plenty flavourful as they are so they'd be good for someone who doesn't like spicy food. But I agree that a bit of spice would work well with these so I'll also be experimenting with them going forward.
 
MrsDangermouse said:
The flavour of these was really nice, but I thought they were a bit too mushy and they didn't go as crispy as I was imagining. The mixture was quite wet though and I think it probably needed to be a lot drier. Maybe next time I'll add more chickpeas or less egg.
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Using a trick I learned while experimenting with Cauliflower Pizza Crust, bake the burgers on parchment paper for about 10 minutes. This will add to the crispiness of the patties as well as help with the "falling apart" issue. I don't know if this would help but i think it is worth 10 minutes of your time.

I REALLY have to try making a Veggie burger before the end of the month.
 
TodayInTheKitchen said:
Using a trick I learned while experimenting with Cauliflower Pizza Crust, bake the burgers on parchment paper for about 10 minutes. This will add to the crispiness of the patties as well as help with the "falling apart" issue. I don't know if this would help but i think it is worth 10 minutes of your time.
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I did actually stick the pan in the oven to bake them for about 15 mins :okay: and it did help a bit, but they were still too soft in the middle and fell apart when eating them.

So I do think the ratio of liquids to solids is slightly off - though I suppose the trouble with making burgers from vegetables and pulses is that the water content is always going to be variable. If it helps anyone else, my mixture (before cooking) was fairly sloppy: it held it's shape when formed into patties on a plate, but it wasn't firm enough to handle and retain it's shape.
 
MrsDangermouse said:
I did actually stick the pan in the oven to bake them for about 15 mins :okay: and it did help a bit, but they were still too soft in the middle and fell apart when eating them.
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I've repeatedly found this over mushy texture to be a problem with veggie burgers. One way to avoid this might be to make them as you would falafel - using raw soaked chickpeas perhaps.

The one time I succeeded in making a firm textured veggie burger was by using tinned jackfruit. It actually looked like a meat burger too. Unfortunately I didn't write down how I made it - but I know I used achiote paste to colour the mixture and added kidney beans. I'll search out the photo. I intend to try replicating this in the next few weeks so I can record the recipe.
 
Here is the jackfruit achiote burger I made last year:

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morning glory said:
I've repeatedly found this over mushy texture to be a problem with veggie burgers. One way to avoid this might be to make them as you would falafel - using raw soaked chickpeas perhaps.

The one time I succeeded in making a firm textured veggie burger was by using tinned jackfruit. It actually looked like a meat burger too. Unfortunately I didn't write down how I made it - but I know I used achiote paste to colour the mixture and added kidney beans. I'll search out the photo. I intend to try replicating this in the next few weeks so I can record the recipe.
Click to expand...
I didn't know that falafel are made with raw soaked chickpeas rather than cooked ones....I think that would probably work really well to improve the texture, I'll definitely try that next time :okay:

I saw jackfruit on a TV programme a few months ago - apparently the texture is a very good meat substitute, but its not very nutritious :(
 
morning glory said:
Yes - that was why I added the beans. Its really worth experimenting with - I got the tin from Morrisons I think. Asian shops also sell them.
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I may try it one day, but I'm not really looking for a meat substitute.....if we want something that looks like meat then we'll just eat meat :wink:
I really like chickpeas though so I'm very interested in trying new things with them and I love the tip to try using them soaked and raw rather than cooked :okay:
 
This looks like a tasty mix of ingredients! I really do want to try making this sometime.

But, I have to echo what @morning glory said about using dry chickpeas (soaked overnight in water). I tried making falafel with canned chickpeas, and they were mushy and unpleasant. I think this must be because of the days (months? years?) they are sitting in liquid in a can. This works well for hummus, but of course the result there is supposed to be soft. But, there is more structural integrity in them when you control the soak time.
 
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