John’s WFPB Burger

Often I feel the need for a good burger. I discovered a good recipe to start as the foundation for my adaptation. I was watching a YouTube video from Sauce Stache who was remaking a recipe from a Canadian chef. The video can be located at his site http://www.saucestache.com.

For my version of the recipe I removed the oil and upped some of the other ingredients. One major adjustment I did was to use Methylcellulose HV which is a thickener and emulsifier. It is soluble in cold water and when heated it adds a nice structure to the burger giving it a bit of chew. Methylcellulose HV is derived from cellulose and is inert to the human body. I felt the original recipe while tasted good still lacked the texture I was looking for in a burger this proved to be a good solution.

Time for the recipe:

12 oz Portobello Mushrooms
1 Can No Salt Added Black Beans drained and rinsed
1 Can No Salt Added Chick Peas drained and rinsed
1 Can No Salt Added Lentils drained
2 Cup Rolled Oats
1 Luv Beets
1 tbsp Tapioca Starch
1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp Marmite
2 tbsp Liquid Smoke
4 g Methylcellulose HV

Lightly brush portobello mushrooms to clean them. Chop the mushrooms. Heat in a skillet over medium heat adding mushrooms once heated and cook them until they have expressed most of their liquids.

Drain and rinse both cans of beans and drain Lentils and add 1/2 to food processor bowl (reserve the rest for later). Add 1 cup of oats and all the sautéed mushrooms into blender with the beans. Pulse quickly to mix

Chop beet and to blender. Pulse to mix

Add tapioca starch, marmite, nutritional yeast, and liquid smoke to blender and pulse to mix

Pour mixture into bowl and add remaining lentils and oats. Mix to incorporate.

Divide the mixture in to 12 parts and place each in a plastic bag (you can also us layers of parchment paper) to chill and then flatten. Our goal is to make the burger pretty thin.

Cook on each side for 4 to 5 mins and the burger is ready to enjoy.

To serve I have found a whole grain lavash bread at one of those big box store that serves as my bun/wrap. I start out by using a layer of hummus because hummus is just better than mayonnaise. I use mixture of baby spinach and arugula to get my cruciferous vegetables. Top the greens with some fresh salsa and then my homemade white cheese from John’s WFPB Béchamel Sauce bonus recipe. I place the cooked burger on top and then wrap the burger with the lavash and then in dry skillet brown both the top and the bottom. I serve the burger with homemade fries and John’s WFPB Ummm…my Sauce that will be posted in the next few days.

I have been impressed on how well this recipe solves my need for burgers. It has enough texture to simulate actual cooked ground beef. I hope that you find this recipe helpful in developing your own WFPB lifestyle.