I wouldn't say I was a total "meat and potatoes" kind of guy. There's just too many awesome foods available to choose from. I do love a good steak though and as summer gets closer I'll be cooking more outdoors. Between the grill and smoker, my meat intake will definitely be on the up!
But sometimes a decent veggie burger is a great switch up from a normal hamburger. I always like to make my own patties because I just haven't tasted any store bought versions that impress me. Usually the ingredients are so small that they just get lost together. As with my meat patties containing mostly just good ground beef, I like my veggie burger patties to be full of chunky vegetables. My favorite for years has been this Ultimate Veggie Burger from 101 Cookbooks, the genius part is that there's no bun. The garbanzo bean packed patty is the "bun" and all you need to do is stuff it full of your favorite fillings.
This broccoli and crimini mushroom veggie burger is coming in a close second though. I started out thinking that it'd be great to use just broccoli and mushrooms, some seasoning and an awesome veggie burger would be born. I didn't think about the water content of the blanched broccoli and the moisture in the mushrooms, and it just wouldn't hold together. Lots of head scratching was done trying to find something that could bind the mixture together.
Luckily I had just received a sample box from Planet Rice. They're rice is all gluten free and sprouted, creating a rice that's nuttier and sweeter tasting than your average Joe brown rice. It's also grown and processed right here in California...score! I added some of the rice to my broccoli mixture and it really helped pull it together not to mention it kicked some serious flavor butt!
These veggie burgers can take a little time to make but they're so worth the effort. Prep as much as you can, even making the patties the day before and keep them in the fridge until cooking time. You'll love the end result.
