If you’re at all interested in food, or cooking (or heck, if you have a an internet connection) you’re probably familiar with a few trends that formed in many a kitchen during the strict lockdown earlier this year, aka that unprecedented stretch of time where most everyone suddenly became chefs or bakers. In no particular order:
-Banana bread, as far as the eye could see;
-Sourdough (creating your starter, feeding your starter, using your starter!);
-“Pantry-friendly” or rather ways to cook with the durable ingredients you’d stocked up on (the goal being to keep stressful supermarket runs to a minimum);
-Anything involving flour and yeast, two ingredients that vanished from supermarket shelves and might as well have been gold.
Me though? None of these trends exactly applied to me. My culinary obsessions laid elsewhere during my 9 week stint in quarantine, namely: 1.) conquering the twisty, terribly tricky trofie and 2.) developing a truly perfect veggie burger, one that could stand squarely up to its meat equivalent and stare it straight in the eye (patty?)
Anyways!
Lockdown presented us all with newfound time to cross off long-standing items on our respective To Do Lists (organize your wardrobe! read more! learn to code!) or, in my case: tackle that veggie burger recipe you’ve been meaning to work on (just me?!) If this seems like an odd task, keep in mind I have more vegetarian friends than I can count, had received a few reader requests for a veggie burger recipe and, plainly speaking: I’m always looking to make something that goes well alongside a pile of fries (extra points if they’re sweet potato).
So! My veggie burger quest began in earnest with a little research -- turns out there are veggie burgers that rely on everything from rice to quinoa, tofu to tempeh, sweet potato to mushroom, chickpeas to cannellini – and after some experimentation and trial and error (I had nothing but time in lockdown, remember) I discovered not only this white bean burger, but today’s roasted eggplant burger, my favorite creation to date, just in time for burger season.
First things first: this may be a veggie burger, yes, but it is one that holds its own against the classic beef burger, a completely craveable burger in its own right, one that would please meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. And how could they not?! These swap the meat for still-substantial eggplant, their flavor deepened and intensified with a little roasting, held together with some breadcrumbs for texture and a little Parmesan for punch. Add tangy lemon juice, spicy garlic, and summery, fresh-from-my-balcony-garden basil, and we’ve got a winner, a true dish in its own right and miles away from the feeble vegetarian alternatives you usually come across (this is no pile of lettuce, my friends). Bonus: this is a veggie burger that holds together perfectly during cooking (a main pitfall when making veggie burgers, I learned) and gets a few extra points in that it also turns a beautiful, toasty, golden brown when cooking. I have made these on repeat the past few months, and highly suggest you do the same. Not mandatory, but highly recommended: oven roasted fries and a swoosh or two of lemon/basil mayo. Burger bliss, my friends.
A couple of notes: Not too much to add here – feel free to play around with the herbs here if you want (mint instead of basil, for example). I have used different varieties of eggplant with this (apart from the standard, dark purple one) with good results. Finally, you can also leave out the bun here or make these a little smaller and have great eggplant polpette.
Looking for other veggie burgers? I’ve got these carrot white bean veggie burgers.
If you love eggplant as much as I do, I’ve also got: this parmigiana di melanzane, this rigatoni with eggplant, this pasta with swordfish and eggplant, this eggplant caponata, and this eggplant, peach, and tomato salad.
ROASTED EGGPLANT BURGERS
Makes 4 burgers.
Ingredients;
2 eggplants (about 800 grams total)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup (125 grams) breadcrumbs
1/4 cup (25 grams) Parmesan cheese
1/2 garlic clove, chopped
A handful of basil, chopped
Juice and zest of half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Buns, to serve
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the eggplant in to small cubes, and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Toss them with enough olive oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or so, or until soft and golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Once the eggplant is cool, mash it until smooth but not pureed (I leave it with some pieces of eggplant remaining). Mix the eggplant in a large bowl with the cheese, basil, breadcrumbs, egg, lemon juice, and garlic. Form in to patties (you should get about four) and cook in a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat until browned on both sides. Serve on toasted buns with whatever toppings you’d like.
