Spicy mushroom & chickpea burgers

Spicy mushroom & chickpea burgers

I like to try different veggie burger recipes, though I don’t often find one that I would make again.

One type of veggie burger that I haven’t had much luck with in the past is the bean burger. The texture never seems quite right… they’re usually really mushy (remember: mush-burgers aren’t us). I’ve tried making bean burgers with wheat gluten to firm them up, and although it did improve the texture, the burgers just didn’t really excite me much.

I thought I would try making burgers from chickpeas, because unlike most other legumes, chickpeas don’t have a mealy/pasty texture; it’s more crumbly and nutty. And anyhoo, I had some chickpeas in the fridge that Stanley had cooked for me the day before.

Since I also had some ‘shrooms in the fridge, I settled on this recipe from BBC food.

I decided to do half the recipe, making three burgers (the recipe below is the full recipe, making six burgers). I followed it pretty closely, except that I omitted the lemongrass. I also added a tablespoon of flour for extra firmness, but didn’t use any flour for dusting.

They turned out most delicious and held up well in the frying pan. I will definitely be making these again!

Next time I might dust them with flour before frying, to give them a bit of a crunchy crust.

If you cook chickpeas from scratch, start with 110g dry. This makes 250g cooked, which is equal to a 400g/14 oz can.


Spicy mushroom & chickpea burgers

British       American
3 tablespoons   olive oil   3 tablespoons
110g   finely chopped onion   1 medium
1 clove   garlic, minced   1 clove
1   small dried chilli, crumbled   1
1 teaspoon   dried cumin   1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon   dried coriander   1 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon
  turmeric   1/4 teaspoon
1/8 teaspoon
  cayenne   1/8 teaspoon
200g   finely chopped mushrooms   7 ounces
2 tablespoons   lime juice   2 tablespoons
to taste   salt & freshly ground pepper   to taste
400g tin   chickpeas   14 oz can
75g   fresh breadcrumbs   1-1/3 cups
2 tablespoons   chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)   2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons   flour   2 tablespoons

1. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, and saute onion for three minutes. Add garlic, saute two minutes.

2. Add chilli, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne and cook for another three minutes. Add mushrooms and lime juice and cook for another five minutes, until softened. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and remove to a large mixing bowl.

3. Crush chickpeas with a fork. Add to the mushroom mixture along with breadcrumbs and fresh coriander (cilantro). Mix well with a fork. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add flour, mix thoroughly.

4. Form mixture into six patties, pressing firmly.

5. Heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy frying pan and fry burgers for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and heated through.

Serve on buns with your choice of fixings.

Makes 6 burgers.

12 Comments

  1. These look great! I’ve been looking for a good mushroom burger recipe.

  2. Yum. These look really good. I am always in the market for a good chickpea or bean burger recipe.

    when ever I end up with really nice ones, it’s when I have not been following a recipe – or writing anything down.

    Great to find your blog, it’s Friday evening so I shall settle down with a glass of wine for a good read!

  3. Now that sounds worth a try to me.

    Thanks

    ceridwen

  4. Whoa baby! They look gorgeous and I bet they taste superdooperlicious!

    O’Felicity – you truly are the domestic kitchen goddess!

  5. That looks super scrummy! I like to try different veggie burger recipes too and using Chickpeas produces the best results by far, in my humble opinion.

  6. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve commented, “Oh, that looks delicious and I’ll have to try it!” And then not made it…. I keep saying I’ll be more adventuresome when I’m on summer break. And then I’ll let you know how great it really is 🙂

  7. I have to try these..thanks for sharing the recipe! I’m particular about my burgers too..and beany burgers have never been a big hit in my house (aka apartment) but I bet these might be. He he he..I was wondering who the heck Stanley is..now I know!

  8. Well, you know I love chickpea burgers.
    Two days ago I made eggplant dolma, which is also called rolled aubergine. It is completely vegetarian if you want to check it out.

  9. I’m the same way! I try them once and am not quite satisfied. My ultimate challenge would be to reproduce and veganize the original garden burger from years ago. it was filled with grains, you could cook it in the toaster (that’s how I also cook boca burgers, etc) and it was very crunchy.

    I’ll have to give your burgers a try because it sounds like we have the same criteria.

  10. I agree with you that it’s difficult to find a good burger recipe. Most of them are too “bready” and dry =( I think that definitely chickpeas work better than beans. I tried a burger recipe from 101 cookbooks blog that called for chickpeas, and the result was delicious =)

  11. I’ve made these twice now and they are fantastic. I served them with a tomato and saffron chutney and they taste perfect. Even my 5 yr old who hates mushrooms ate them with no complaints! Thank you for a great recipe.

  12. Made these yesterday and they taste lovely. by far best mushroom burgers I’ve had.
    served them today with veg, mash and a little vegi gravy rather than as a burger in a bun. thank you for a great recipe

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