Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Oat Burgers

A name like oat burgers sounds like nothing special. But when I make these at our house, they are anticipated with much joy. Many people think that eating vegetarian must mean eating a lot of meat and cheese analogs (foods made to taste, look and feel like meat or cheese). There's the burgers, crumbles, meatless "bacon", slices, shreds, and other stuff out there.

I found that although I did eat some of these things at first and many of the dairy analogs (especially after going vegan), after a while, these things didn't appeal to me anymore. There's just something about eating good, whole, and if I may say, pure food. And I realized that there are a lot of claims about these foods on either side of the fence about how healthy they are for you.

Generally the less processed food, the better. If you look at a veggie burger in the frozen food section and the ingredient list is a mile long, put it back. Then go pick up some of these ingredients and make yourself some oat burgers. Or go make some of your own veggie burgers using this Meatless Burgers - Universal Recipe.

Oatburgers
3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups water
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons (or more) sage
1 teaspoon salt or Homemade Seasoned Salt

Mix all ingredients well in a bowl* and let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour (can refrigerate). This allows it to firm up to hold its shape better. I can get about 13 burgers out of this recipe if I use the canning lid shaping idea.

(*Vitamix help: put the water in the Vitamix container to the 1 1/2 cup mark, then add onion, cut into quarters, until you reach the 3 cup mark - this adds a little more onion, but we like it this way - then add your premeasured 1 1/2 cup (non-chopped) walnuts. Pulse at about 6-7 on low until chopped well but not pureed. Add to the rest of the ingredients, which are in another bowl, and proceed. This will still make your eyes a bit watery, but it's faster than doing it by hand.)

Once shaped, put on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and then turn over and bake another 10-15 minutes or until done.

Go ahead, put out the burger fixin's: ketchup, mustard, vegan mayo, romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and maybe even some "5 S" Barbecue Sauce to top it off. Have a mouthful of fun! =)

4 comments:

mub said...

These look really interesting, I've bookmarked them to try out! Thanks =)

Sheree' said...

Hi I just found your site. Can you freeze these burgers before cooking or do you think you should freeze after cooking? Love you site

Loretta said...

Hello, welcome!

You can freeze these burgers before or after cooking. Either way is fine.

Last time I made these I stirred in a tablespoon or two of corn. Gives it a little color too. A little bit of finely chopped red sweet bell pepper would look nice too.

Loretta said...

Making these oat burgers again today....smelling so good in the oven right now - I wanted to make sure I made a note as to how I made them today..... followed usual proportions using sweet onion for the onion, added in garlic scapes (chopped), a few cooked and frozen mushrooms, and my walnuts were substituted with mostly sunflower seeds and some cashews instead. I had maybe a 1/4 cup or less of some leftover cooked cabbage and cauliflower, so I threw that in as well. Smells so lovely. Can't wait to try it out.....will update in a few minutes! =)

These held together so well, I was really surprised and happy to find this out. I baked them like I usually do, without any added oil, on parchment paper and they were moist and held together nicely!