White Bean, Pecan, and Sage Burgers
17 Comments
You may already know this, but I can't stand veggie burgers.
Well, I can't stand the ones you get at most stores. I find them irritatingly coarse, not satisfying at all, and ridiculously overpriced. Plus, I find the nutrition content deplorable, the chemical signature outrageous.
As you can see, I'm pretty passionate about it all. Because veggie burgers of all sorts are a go-to meal around here. Because they're relatively easy to make. And because they're so darn delicious.
Bean burgers may be my favorite of all. The "batter" can be made in advance and saved back in the fridge for a couple days. Or you can fry them up and save them back for lunch in the days ahead. They're great cold with a salad alongside. Or reheated on a baking sheet in a preheated 350F oven for 10 minutes or so.
Bruce's recipe is genius. It's found in toto in COOKING KNOW-HOW, our step-by-step tome explaining the science and art behind sixty-nine dishes. But lacking all that know-how, here's one way to make them.
First, heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Scrape a chopped, medium onion into the skillet as well as two or three whole, medium garlic cloves. Why whole? Because you're going to puree them later anyway.
Cook and stir until the onion has softened and is translucent, about 3 minutes.
Scrape the contents of the skillet into a food processor fitted with a chopping blade. Then add all of the following: the drained and rinsed white beans from a 15-ounce can (about 1 3/4 cups of beans), 1/2 cup pecan pieces (although walnut pieces or slivered almonds will work, too), 1/2 cup rolled oats (do not use quick-cooking or steel-cut), 1 large egg, 2 or 3 tablespoons parsley leaves, 2 or 3 tablespoons sage leaves, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Lock on the lid and give all that a whir, scraping down the inside of the canister once or twice to make sure everything gets a chance to take a death spiral on the blades. In the end, you want a fairly thick paste, pretty smooth. (By the way, I only caught the photo after Bruce was already on to the next step!)
Scrape this mixture into a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. The oats need to absorb moisture and help the mixture firm up.
Heat that skillet again over medium heat and swirl in a little more olive oil. Wet your fingers and shape about 1/2 cup of the bean mixture into a patty. Set this in the skillet and keep making more.
Fry until brown and crisp, about 3 minutes. Turn them with a large spatula and continue frying until crisp on the other side and set in the middle, about 3 to 4 more minutes.
And you're done. We had ours with a summery, lemony slaw. But they'd be great in pita pockets with chopped lettuce, tomato, and some creamy salad dressing. Or on buns, topped with some slaw or perhaps some grilled zucchini with a dollop of mustard. Real food, no preservatives, a better chemical signature, and an all-around great meal. No wonder I'm passionate about these burgers.
Reader Comments (17)
I love that book of yours! But I haven't made these burgers - I'm going to check it out right now...
Hmmm, these seem like they even have the potential to be snuck past bean-haters, perhaps with some creative evasion in answering the question "What's in these?" ("Hey, look over there! A UFO!") Just to avoid activating knee-jerk prejudices, you understand.
Count me as another lover of your new book! Full of challenging ideas and fascinating information, plus practical advice--what's not to love?
Wow, yum. I will definitely try these. I like the idea of the oats, my black bean burgers always fall apart. I guess I need to get a copy of Cooking Know-How! I'm new to the world of Weinstein-Scarbrough, and I feel like a kid in a (HFCS free) candy store with all these cookbooks.
You guys are so nice! I hope you enjoy these burgers. They're rather incredible. I have one in the fridge; I've squirreled it back for lunch tomorrow.
M.
Ooooh, now there's something I've sort of thought about making for a long while (way back in the back of my head tho and thoughts from there don't always make it to reality). This sounds fabulous and I love sage and was looking at the gorgeous bunches of it at the market the other day wondering what I would do with it if I bought a whole bunch. Have been meaning to go looking at what the different types of oats here are anyway and this recipe is as good an excuse as any to go and try figure out how Germans process their oats. Thanks for this recipe. One day when I have the money I suspect I will end up buying most if not all of your books. For now I've just got Bruce's Knits Men Want but I cook far more than I knit so it's likely I may need to buy more bookshelves for the kitchen soon.
Just had to let you know that I've been eating on these for 3 days now...yum! I served mine with cole slaw (with a good kick of lime) in a whole wheat pita. It is so delicious and REAL!!! Love it! Btw, I've slowly started building a collection of your books after reading RFHC. They are priceless as well as the gems on this site!
My, um, TSA friend: Aren't they wonderful? I wish I could get more people into them. And so easy. I also love them on toasted English muffins with hummus as the condiment--or even better yet and more summery, baba ganoush. Plus a slice or two of pickled jalapeño, natch, being the Texas boy that I am.
And if I can be shamelessly self-promoting as the writer, try the HAM tome. While you may or may not be into ham, I'm most proud of it because I got to write it entirely in the first person, as my own fractured take on the whole cooking experiment.
M.
These sound luscious! I don't have any sage in my herb garden, but I have scads of basil. Do you think basil would work as well?
Barb: Absolutely! Try it. And maybe some thyme?
M.
I just made these tonight for my fiance and sister and we all loved them. I made the white bean and sage burgers out of the know how cookbook. Absolutely delicious!! They were a little difficult to form into patties and move around but I think that's because I did not refridgerate them after taking them out of the food processor. Big A+ on this recipe, I think the bistro burgers or the morrocan ones may be next.
Noah: Glad you liked them. And yep, that fridge time is important. Helps them set up. But wet your hands before making each patty and they'll go pretty well, too.
M.
Just subscibed to your blog and have one question for these burgers ( as I haven't purchased the book), can they be frozen. I'm single and like to freeze/vacuum alot of meals for ease after a good day on the golf course.
Thanks
Fanz: Yes, they can be frozen. But only AFTER they're made. Once fried, put them on a tray and freeze them, then store in a plastic bag. To reheat, put them straight from the freezer onto a baking sheet and into a preheated 350F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
M.
HI,
I am definitely new to this world.... just found your RFHS book and am excited to start reading it. I am a vegetarian trying to go vegan. In this world, I am stuck between super processed "soy" meats and yummy fresh things. Is there a way to substitute the egg in the recipe? I have always been told applesauce does the trick in some things. Any advice?
Ashley: Unfortunately, the egg does have a binding property--and applesauce may not hold it. You can always try it with 1/4 cup applesauce and see what happens. You might also want to up the beans a bit, just for more "stickiness." If it works, definitely drop the comment back here! I'm sure there are many people who would love to have that answer.
M.
The day after you posted this recipe I bought a can of white beans. Then I forgot to get some sage. Then I decided to wait a week or two until the fresh walnuts hit the market. Then they arrived but it took me until last Saturday to get around to buying a nutcracker. And then I used up all the walnuts almost straighaway because fresh walnuts are just so delicious - if I'm honest, it was something of a case of "one for me, one for the bowl" while I was shelling them. But tomorrow I am having a vegetarian friend over for dinner, I bought sage on Saturday that hasn't died yet and I will just buy a packet of chopped walnuts in the supermarket on the way home from work. Pity my magic bullet died a few weeks ago - will have to see if a combinatio of my tupperware quickchef and a stick blender will be good enough for this. I very nearly don't want to try anymore - after all this build-up it feels like these burgers couldn't possibly live up to it. :-)
Moonwaves: HA! That is a lot of build-up for a rather simple meal. Reading your response made me laugh out loud--because I get into problems like that. On a somewhat different but still oddly similar front, I used to have such a rule for online dating: meet within 48 hours of first contact or the imagination will get the better of you.
M.