Vegan Chickpea& Butterbean burger and oven baked chips

 Something for a lunch or a dinner? There is a bit of preparation going on with the burger, so I often do the burger mixture it in a large batch. Then I keep burgers or no-meat balls in the fridge up to 1 week. 

Often my burgers are the creation of any leftovers in the fridge - beans, pulses, mushroom and pepper. Combining all of them I got a burger which is simply delicious. 

As for oven baked chips...well, I think I could eat them every day. SO simple to make and so satisfying. It does not matter what potatoes you use. I have used young baby, floury, reds, sweet potatoes [my favourite], parsnip, celeriac... All great choices.  


Most of the time I do not use burger buns. Prefer them served on salad, full of fresh leaves and roasted vegetables. Enough that I add mayo or ketchup. Because why not? I sometimes make mayo or ketchup myself, but who has the time to do that constantly? We really need to go for a walk more, which is highly recommended after eating this burger. 

Let's start.

for 2-4 people, depends how hungry they are :-)

For chips:

300g white potatoes

300g sweet potatoes [orange are a good option, giving some nice colour and contrast to the dish]

3 Tbsp cooling oil [sunflower, olive oil...]

1/2 tsp salt [add more after baking, if needed; always better add more salt then to have food to salty]

1/2 tsp chilly flakes [add more after baking if needed]

1 tsp theme [dried or fresh. I do prefer fresh, but in the winter, although some still survives in the UK, it's not that aromatic.]

1. Start preheating grill in the oven. I use medium setting. Grills work different in different ovens, but the chips are soft after about 22-25 minutes of grilling and they should start browning inlaces. This is what you are aiming for. No need to pre-cook potatoes. They really get nicely soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside just by baking raw potatoes. 

2. chop potatoes in roughly the same size finger-like-chunks. Place on a large baking tray, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and spices and bake. After every 5 minutes or so stir them so they do not burn on one side only.

That's it! Serve with your burger or simply with mayo, ketchup or green peas dip. 


For Burger with salad:

250-300g cooked chickpeas 

250-300g butter beans

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

1 red pepper [chopped]

1 medium onion [around 70-100g] chopped

100g shiitake or mixed mushrooms [shiitake mushrooms have almost a meaty/chewy flavour when cooked, so they work really well here] chopped

2 Tbsp miso paste [red works better, but any would do to add this amazing umami flavour]

2 Tbsp tomato pure

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp ground mustard seeds+ black pepper mix [or use black pepper only]

1/4 chilly flakes 

1/2- 1 tsp salt [taste before adding more and remember there is already miso paste which is salty, so less is more :-)]

1/2 tsp smoked paprika 

1/2 tsp thyme [dried or fresh]

3-4 Tbsp water

2-3 Tbsp chickpea or buckwheat flour [or plain flour]

.........grilled vegetables 

small courgette [=zucchini] sliced in 0.5 cm slices

1 red or yellow pepper - chopped in large chunks resembling courgette slices in size

1 Tbsp olive oil [or sunflower, rapeseed...any cooking oil]

1 tsp thyme [dried or fresh]

1/2 tsp salt

.........garnish

2 little gem lettuce or any green salad leaves, 

sliced tomato

sliced small red onion or chopped spring onions [4-5]

sliced pickled cucumber [4-6]

mayonnaise and ketchup optional

pesto optional

How to?

1. in the food processor chop roughly chickpeas and beans, but do not make it completely mushy. It will taste better when it is a bit grainy.

2. heat up the frying pan, add oil, onion, red pepper, mushrooms and fry on medium for about 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally, so it does not burn on one side.

3. in the meantime prepare grilled vegetables. On the large baking tray mix together courgette, pepper and spices with oil. Grill in the oven for about 15 minutes. They need to start browning slightly.

4. back to the pan in the stage (2). After 5-6 minutes add all spices from a burger section [miso paste, tomato pure, sugar, smoked paprika, mustard seeds with black pepper, chilly flakes, salt and thyme. Cook for about 1-2 minutes stirring. Add water to thin the mixture and to make it more like sauce. Cook for few seconds [15-20 sec, just to heat up all]. and switch it off.

5. In a big ball mix together crushed beans/chickpeas with the "sauce" from the stage 4. Add flour to make everything bind better. If needed add 1 more Tbsp of flour, but bare in mind that the burger will thicken when cooked. 

6. Preheat the oven [grill option works well, but check every 10 minutes or so if they do not burn too much on the top]. Line baking tray with parchment paper, form burgers or small balls [any size you like] and bake them for about 25-30 minutes in the oven [grill option on medium]. 

You could fry then as well, but I prefer less greasy option. 

7. Assemble the whole dish as you like. My suggestion? fresh salad first, a bit of mayo, pickled cucumber, grilled vegetables, burger, slice of tomato, mayo or/and ketchup. Chips on the side.

Make it your own and enjoy!










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