Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Watercourse Foods Tempeh Burger

This isn't the first time I've linked to Watercourse Foods in Denver, CO. I have only been there once, but I am now making it my personal mission to visit every time I visit Denver!

I did not try the veggie burger when I went, but I have heard raves about it. Their recipe has now been published, and since my wonderful husband loves veggie burgers, I thought I'd test it out. I took some liberties with the recipe*, and the burgers came out a little dry. Other than that, they were super tasty, and these sweet potato fries were the perfect accompaniment! There was a lot of prep work, but my food chopper gets the job done (or if you have a nice sous chef, that works also).


From Food pics


Ingredients:

1/2 cup wild rice
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp fennel
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
8 oz tempeh
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce (note: this is NOT vegetarian - be sure to find a brand that is, like Annie's)
2 tbsp arame, rehydrated, drained and chopped
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 c garbanzo flour

* I left out the celery, parsley, fennel and arame because I forgot it/don't like it/couldn't find it. I think the celery and arame would have added a little more juice, which might be why my burgers were dry.

1. Cook the rice with 1 1/4 cup water until done, then cook an additional 10 minutes. Depending on your rice, this could take up to an hour. Transfer to a baking sheet and cool completely.

2. Preheat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Heat oil in a saute pan. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and red pepper and cook until softened (about 6-8 minutes). Add parsley, garlic, cumin, onion/garlic powder, fennel, salt and pepper. Crumble the tempeh over the veggies and saute 5 minutes over low heat. Add the lemon juice, soy sauce, vinegar, liquid smoke, and Worchestershire. Mix well, and try to make sure that the liquid is coating everything in the pot. (I added about 1/2 cup veg broth here). Cover and cook until the liquid is fully absorbed.

4. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let it sit until it is cool enough to handle. Add the rice, arame, and nutritional yeast. Mix well.

5. Pulse half the mixture in a food processor or good blender until pureed. Return the puree to the bowl and mix it in. Add the chickpea flour. The mixture is dense and really sticky. Shape into patties and place on the parchment paper.

6. Bake 10 minutes, flip, and bake another 10 minutes, until the patties are firm and cooked through.


From Food pics


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