Tofu, White Bean, and Corn Burgers
(The Menopause Cookbook by Hope Ricciotti, M.D., and Vincent Connelly, page 161)
Tip: The mix can be prepared a day in advance without the egg.
1/2 cup dried tomatoes
1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
Sea salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
12 ounces firm tofu, crumbled
1 cup canned Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 ounces soy cheddar, sliced or grated
4 whole-grain sandwich buns
Tomato slices
Romaine Lettuce leaves
- Heat the oven to 400 F. Place the tomatoes in a bowl. Pour the water on them and allow to soften for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the garlic to the pan and cook it until soft, stirring occasionally. Add the onion to the pan and cook until soft, stirring occasionally.
- Add the corn and parsley to the pan. Cook the ingredients for another three minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with seal salt and black pepper.
- Transfer the ingredients to the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the tofu, beans, breadcrumbs, egg, and tomatoes to the bowl. Turn the machine on and process ingredients until well combined. It may be necessary to turn off the machine and scrape the ingredients back toward the blade.
- Form the tofu mixture into 4 tightly packed balls. Form the balls into patties. Place the oil on a baking tray and place the tray in the oven for 3 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven and place the patties on the tray. Bake the patties until browned and crisp, approximately 10 minutes, turning them once. During the last two minutes, place an equal portion of cheese on each.
- Divide the burgers among 4 buns. Divide the tomato slices and lettuce leaves among the burgers and serve at once.
EMILY SAYS: I doubled the recipe, since they said it made only 4 burgers. I ended up with about 18. They must have been making them HUGE. On top of that I had to double the amount of breadcrumbs (I ended up using 2 cups total). The burgers were still rather sticky and difficult to handle before cooking, but the extra breadcrumbs made them manageable. I baked them closer to 15 minutes, and they still had a rather mushy consistency. We served them with a choice of white or wheat buns, and ketchup, mustard, relish, and cheese. They firmed up by the next day, when we had them as leftovers -- warmed in the toaster like boughten veggie burgers.
LYNDA SAYS: The texture did come out a little odd, but not bad. The flavor was pleasant, and mild -- if you use strong-flavored condiments, you'll lose the taste of the veggie burger itself. I had one cold with my lunch the next day and enjoyed the taste more than when I had topped it with spicy mustard at the YumQuest itself.