Home        About Us         Food for thought        Recipes        Links         Contact us

Meat Free Everyday - Recipes

Soy Burgers

Makes 8 x 85 grm, or 5 x 130 grm burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry soy beans
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 a medium onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Spices to flavour (see Variations below)

Cooking method:

1. Cook the soy beans, discard the water (see cooking note 1)
2. Heat oven to 180°C
3. Mince, mash or chop cooked beans (in a food processor or by hand) with the onion garlic salt and pepper (see cooking note 2)
4. Add flour, egg and spices and stir well (see cooking note 3)
5. Form into shapes on a baking tray (see cooking note 4)
6. Bake for 20 min at 180°C
7. Allow to cool before removing from grease proof paper to dry. Use grease proof paper or wrap to separate the patties in storage

Cooking Notes

1. It’s hard to find ready cooked soybeans so often cooking is your only option. Soak soy beans overnight or longer if you can. The more water they absorb the better they cook and normally I soak for at least 36 hours. In my pressure cooker they get done in 26 min. Boiling beans takes much longer and much more energy
2. Any mashing or chopping will do. I prefer a rough, textured mince but a smooth paste will do just as well – see variations below
3. The mixture must be good and sticky so that it retains its shape. Add flour if needed. Too dry a mixture and burgers crumble
4. Use a burger press or form by hand into shapes approximately 1 cm thick. Form onto grease proof paper on a baking tray

Variations:

1. For different tastes and texture add or substitute cooked chickpeas, lentils, mealies, mixed vegetables, oats
2. The more pureed the beans the thicker and heavier the burger – the more solid and concentrated the protein. My preference is for a lighter with a rough mince – I can always have two to get more protein
3. The burger can be made lighter by adding ½ to 1 tsp baking powder
4. Add up to 45ml, 3 Tblsp of butter or margarine, or olive or other oil for a more juicy texture if wanting to grill or fry
5. To darken the patties try soy-sauce, marmite or Worcester sauce – they add flavour too
6. Most flours work well: whole-wheat, chickpea, soy, potato, oat
7. Add parsley for more food value
8. For spices try this: toast 1 tsp each of mustard, cumin, coriander and sesame seeds, grinding them with a pestle and mortar or in a seed or coffee grinders. Soy beans are often said to have no flavour but they do and while not offensive or unpleasant is distinctive. That means the flavourings can be generous. Otherwise use already ground spices savoury commercial mixtures
9. Many shops and supermarkets sell rings to shape eggs when frying. These can be used to shape round patties. Some cookie cutters can be used as well. Compress well to retain shape
10. These patties freeze well. Check the instructions on this for your freezer
11. When serving the patties can be grilled or fried, plain or crumbed, even marinated. They cook well on over a fire or coals: as they don’t need to be cooked it doesn’t take long to heat and char the burger. A pesto topping is great

Home        About Us         Food for thought        Recipes        Links         Contact us