Sunday, March 23, 2008

Eggplant Burgers

For this I started with a recipe from Crescent Dragonwagon's "Passionate Vegetarian" and modified it to suit my needs. The resulting eggplant cakes are my new favorite thing. There's really not much else I can say about these. You simply need to try them. They were twice as good as I was expecting.

Eggplant Burgers

2 eggplants sliced into rounds
3 Tbsp. Braggs or soy sauce
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
2 small slices of bread torn into pieces
1 Tbsp. tahini (or more)
1 teaspoon Chipotle sauce (or more)
1 1/2 cups dry textured vegetable protein

Bake the eggplant on an oiled baking sheet at 350 degrees until tender, turning halfway through. Remove from oven and transfer to a food processor.

Add the Braggs, garlic, bread, tahini, and chipotle sauce. Blend until smooth, then add the textured vegetable protein. Blend to mix well. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes. Blend again briefly and taste for seasoning.

Form into 8 patties (approx. 3 inch). When I am making patties from something sticky like this I find it helpful to form the patty between two layers of plastic wrap so they don't stick to my hands. Bake the patties on an oiled baking sheet at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, flipping over halfway through. If you would like the burgers a little crispier, put them under the broiler for a few seconds on each side.

Serve as is, with the sauce of your choice, or on a bun with greens, tomato, Veganaise, and spicy ketchup.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yum!! I love eggplants, but I've never thought of having them in a burger. =)

Anonymous said...

These look awesome! Do you rehydrate the TVP before adding it to the eggplant mixture or does the eggplant produce enough liquid that you add it dry?? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

What a great new way to use eggplant, AND a great new way to have a burger (instead of the usual beans or tofu)! Can't wait to try these.

Jenny Wren said...

Gail--Don't rehydrate the tvp. Just throw it in dry. I kept wondering if I should add some more liquid, but it came out perfect this way.

KT said...

I love the name of your blog, & those eggplant burgers sound really good!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

yes! i am so making these soon.

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

that is awesome awesome awesome!! love the idea!

DJ said...

That looks delish - I'm with romina on this, I love eggplant!!

Anonymous said...

In my search for suitable summer fare these are high on the list! Plus, I'm totally obsessed with eggplant. YUM!

Stella said...

Genius! Pure genius.

Anonymous said...

I made these today and they are awesome! The taste is sooo great!

I have only one problem - they fall apart :( What can I do about it?

Jenny Wren said...

Forisma--Mine held together very well using this exact recipe. I see you added an egg replacer and fried them. Try them without the egg replacer and try baking them. If you try that, let me know how it turns out. I need to make these again they are sooo good! Thanks for trying them.

Unknown said...

I half-assed an attempt at making these with a blender instead of a food processor, half a burger bun in place of bread slices, and almond butter and sesame oil in lieu of tahini - and they were FANTASTIC. SO FREAKING DELICIOUS. My boyfriend and I still cannot stop talking about it. And we are no where NEAR vegans.

THANK YOU!!!