Veggie Burgers with Radish and Kohlrabi Pickle
Phew! Ok so there’s been a few problems here at Food Stories HQ. If you visited this site in the past few days then you would have found well, nothing actually. Things went badly wrong and help had to be called in. Anyway, as you can see we are back up and running and there’s been a few improvements along the way. I even chucked in a little modification for you lovely people – you can now click on the header to go to the home page instead of that silly little ‘home’ button. I bet you’re excited…….
So lets get right back into it shall we? I’ve been hankering after a veggie burger for ages now and itching to try Heidi’s ‘ultimate‘ version where she cunningly uses the burgers themselves in place of the bun. I was all set up to try this but realised that with all my fillings, I likely wouldn’t be able to pick it up. I’m a girl that likes to hold my burger so you can fork off if you think I’m using cutlery.
I used chickpeas for the burger body but I wanted to give it a slight Asian slant and use some of my beloved soy beans too. I seasoned it with soy instead of salt, a sprinkling of chilli flakes, added a finely chopped red onion, some coriander and lemon zest. They were delicious.
The key to lifting a burger from great to super-great though, is all in the accompaniments. I like something piquant in my burger, but craved something a bit more exciting than the ever-reliable gherkin. Yet another kohlrabi arrived in the veg box this week that begged to be prepared differently. The inspiration came from a conversation with a Vietnamese friend who told me that her mum pickles it. I combined it with some perky fresh radishes and steeped the veggies in a mixture of cider vinegar, sugar, wholegrain mustard and a touch of salt. I’m now actively seeking out kohlrabi and radishes rather than waiting for them to come to me – it’s that good. Perfect in the burger too but it’s also going to be great with fish and cheese. I had some other lovely bits and bobs lying around, leftover from previous meals – chicory, avocado and purple sprouting broccoli. Everything went in. You could obviously just throw in whatever floats your boat.
Veggie Burgers (makes 6)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
140g soy beans, cooked and drained
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1-2 eggs, beaten (you may not need all of the beaten eggs)
The crumbs from one large slice of bread
A sprinkling of chilli flakes, to taste
1 small bunch coriander, chopped
Zest of 2 (unwaxed) lemons
A dash of soy sauce
Black pepper
Oil, for frying
Polenta, for crusting the cakes
- Pulse the soy beans and chickpeas in a blender until it looks like really lumpy houmous. Put the mix in a large bowl and add everything except the eggs. Mix well.
- Beat the eggs with lots of black pepper and add enough to make it firm enough to shape into 6 burgers. Spread the polenta on a plate and pat each burger into it until each is well covered. Put the burgers on an oiled baking sheet and chill in the fridge for half an hour (or longer).
- Shallow fry the burgers until golden brown and crispy on both sides.
Radish and Kohlrabi Pickle
1 medium kohlrabi, cut into strips (julienne if you fancy!)
Around 20 small radishes, cut into strips as best you can
1 small onion, finely sliced
10 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, crushed
- Heat the vinegar, sugar, salt and mustard and garlic in a pan until the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour over the veggies and let steep for 2 hours or more.
Category: Main Dishes, Pickles, Salads, Sandwiches, Vegetables 28 comments »
April 15th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
This is delicious looking burger, even if it is veggie :-p
I didn’t use to like radish when I was a kid, but I have been using it in several dishes lately that I don’t understand what exactly I disliked from them. Weird, isn’t it?
April 15th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Looks great! I love making my own veg burgers. The last one I made was adzuki bean with pickled red onions and heirloom tomatoes. I wish I could take a bite of that burger, bravo!
April 15th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
It’s a great burger idea!
April 15th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
This looks great! Those radishes on top are so pretty. Anything that colorful must be delicious.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Love the toppings on the burger. I also like how you coated the burger before frying. I’m going to try that next time I make a vegetable burger.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Wonderful veggie burgers Helen. I like the creativity behind this dish and your use of the kohlrabi.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:36 am
That burger mix sounds pretty good. This is the first that I have heard of kohlrabi. It sounds interesting.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Veggie burgers! Interesting!
April 16th, 2008 at 2:12 am
That looks truly delicious! There is nothing like a good veggie burger.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:48 am
I could hear myself crunching on this one. I’ve never made a veggie burger, but yours looks so good that it has truly inspired me. I love all the trimmings too. You really got the balance between sweet, salty, sour and bitter just right.
April 16th, 2008 at 11:11 am
I am going to have to save this recipe, my veggie burgers always fall to bits! Thanks so much for sharing this.
April 16th, 2008 at 11:39 am
ben – I know what you mean, it’s funny how tastes change as we get older and we just ‘get a taste’ for things.
Chef Erik – Your burger sounds delicious, I must experiemtn more with aduki beans
babeth – Thanks!
Stacy – anything that colourful must also be good for you!
Cookinpanda – That crust really helps to keep everything in.
Peter G – I can’t get enough of those kohlrabi’s right now!
Kevin -I have other kohlrabi recipes on my site, check em out!
Daziano – thanks!
Jessica – I agree, all the comfort of a burger but with extra health benefits!
Nina – Thanks, that it exaclty what I was trying to achieve.
Nicisme – That polenta crust will keep the contents of your burger intact!
April 16th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
That pickle looks fascinating – I do like gherkin with a burger but this pickle takes it to another level! And I keep wanting to cook with radish so love this idea for using them
April 16th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Usually I would likly back away from a veggie burger but I really love chickpeas, so this recipe stands out for me. I give it a perfect 10.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
The polenta crust is a nice touch! Delicious!
April 16th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I love veggie burgers and this looks delicious. I’m always stuck as what to do with khol rhabi, and you’ve inspired me
April 16th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Fantastic looking chickpea burgers. And even better with your kohlrabi pickle. When I first looked at the picture I assumed it was daikon, but no. I never know what to do with kohlrabi and I think this is an interesting suggestion.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:41 am
I’ve never made one of these. You’re an inspiration. The addition of the fresh coriander is inspired.
April 17th, 2008 at 8:44 am
You know, I’ve never had veggie burgers. These look great.
I’ve tagged you for a meme:
http://asliceofcherrypie.blogspot.com/2008/04/six-words.html
April 17th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
That is one picture-perfect veg burger!
April 17th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Johanna – I like a gherkin too but I just craved something a bit mroe exciting, the radishes were perfect!
Pixie – Don’t step away from that veggie burger!!! It wants to be eaten!
Lisa – thanks, it works a treat, I use it on everything now. Well on fishcakes and veggie burgers anyway…
jules – I’m so glad I inspired you! Let me know what you think if you try it.
Kathryn – I thought people might think it was daikon, it does look like it in the picture.
Mary Coleman – Thank you! I’m so glad I’ve given you some ideas.
Julia – Never had veggie burgers! Thanks for the tag. This is the second time I’ve been tagged for this meme so I must do it tonight!
Jj – Thanks very much!
I must stop using exclamation marks so much……!
April 17th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Great burger but I love that relish, so simple and fresh, delicious!
Cheers
David
April 17th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
This recipe is very good. I do like how you seasoned with soy sauce instead of salt. It looks very tempting.
Megan
April 17th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Oh, I could hug you for sharing this recipe. I am forever tweaking veggie burger recipes looking for a “star.” This one may be it!
April 18th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Bloggy mishaps are the worst! I’ve stayed up all night to fix things on my blog before… let’s hope that doesn’t happen to either of us again soon.
I love homemade veggie burgers and especially like the colors in your version. Delicious and healthy.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:37 am
This is a great burger!
May 12th, 2008 at 9:14 am
mmmmm! I love veggie burgers and just looking at this made my mouth water! well done!
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:01 pm
At last a blog which is what it says on the side of the can. Thank you so much for all the content you have here, particularly Veggie Burgers with Radish and Kohlrabi Pickle — Food Stories. It’s really great. Billi Viltman.