Vegetarian bean and potato burgers

When I became a vegetarian as a teenager in the mid 1990's, a vegetable burger was a very desirable dish for me. Back then neither in Finland nor in Germany there were very many in the offer, so I had to figure out how to make my own. A bean and potato burger was the very first one I ever tried to make, and I remember to have been very pleased with myself then. Unfortunately I have lost that recipe, but I tried to make an advanced version of those burgers today, and I really think that the result was similar, yet much better, to the burgers back then.

So here's my recipe for vegetarian bean and potato burgers. Don't be intimidated by the long ingredient list, most of it is seasoning that's handy to always have around. The burgers take a little bit of dedication to make, but boy, are they worth it!

For the burger patties: (Makes about 10 large patties)

500g potatoes

2 red onions

3 garlic cloves

2tbsp olive oil

400g black beans (1 tin)

200g sweetcorn (1 small tin)

1tsp ground cumin

1tsp ground coriander

1tsp parsley

A dash of grated nutmeg

1tsp chilli flakes

1tsp vegetable stock powder

A few leaves of fresh sage

1tsp salt

½tsp black pepper

2 eggs

1 cup semolina

1 cup breadcrumbs

Vegetable oil for frying

For assembling the burgers:

Ciabatta rolls (or lovely home made buns!)

Cheddar with chilli

Gem lettuce

Peel the potatoes, boil them in water until soft and mash them. Then let the mash cool. While the potatoes are boiling prepare the rest of the Schnitzel mixture. Chop the onions and garlic finely and cook them in olive oil until soft. Add the beans and sweetcorn to the pan and season with cumin, coriander, parsley, nutmeg, chilli flakes, vegetable stock powder, sage, salt and pepper. Cook until any excess liquid has evaporated and cool the mix.

Once both mixtures have cooled, combine them and stir thoroughly together. After the mixing, let the patty mixture rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Then the actual patty making can start. It's best to prepare an assembling line for these, starting from the left: the bowl with the patty mixture (shaping of the patties takes place above the mixture bowl), a deep plate with the beaten eggs, another plate with the semolina and breadcrumbs and finally a hot non-stick pan with generous amount of vegetable oil for frying (the cooking temperature may need adjusting during the cooking). Shape the patties with your hands and roll them in the eggs and the breadcrumbs, and then off to the frying pan they go. Fry the patties on both sides until they are golden brown with a crispy surface.

At some point in between, warm up the buns and cut the lettuce. Then just assemble yourself some nice veggie burgers and enjoy! I served a salad with homemade oven tomatoes on the side and added some chilli Cheddar to the burgers – yummy! 

Stay hungry!

Your VegHog