I love a good veggie burger. I made a few from all different types of recipes. They are made from everything under the sun. Since I was in the mood to make a veggie burger this week, I did a search for a recipe to adapt. It turns out, in that search, I found someone who made a formula for creating the perfect veggie burger. That’s fascinating. I never thought there was a formula. It makes sense. This week, I decided I would make my own using this formula. The formula comes from Maria Siriano at the Cookful. I won’t post the full list here, but you can follow the link to see it. However, the main categories are as follows:

• Standard ingredients
• Cooked veggies
• Cooked grain
• Cooked legumes
• Flavor builders
• Spices
• Dry base

Since I am building my own, I will not post original stats, since there really isn’t a base recipe. I will give stats for what I build. Here is what I chose as my ingredients.

• 1 cup red bell pepper
• 1 cup cooked carrot
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup cooked red lentils
• 1/4 cup hemp hearts (not on the list, but in the same family)
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios
• 1.5 teaspoons cumin
• 1.5 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 cup almond meal

Here are the stats:

I will be rounding out the vitamin C with a side of extra veggies.

Having made these, they tasted great but were soft. I would change what gets blended. There needed to be more texture.

Here is the final recipe:

Kerry’s Curry Burgers

Serves 8

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1–2 garlic cloves
• oil for cooking (e.g. olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil)
• 1 cup cooked red bell pepper
• 1 cup cooked carrot
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup cooked red lentils (reserve any extra cooking liquid)
• 1/4 cup hemp hearts (not on the list, but in the same family)
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios
• 1.5 teaspoons cumin
• 1.5 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 cup almond meal

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and salt and cook until the onion is translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add vegetables and cook until soft, 5-10 minutes.
2. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a food processor. Add all remaining ingredients except the reserved bean liquid and frying oil. Pulse 5-10 times to combine. Don’t overdo it; you don’t want a paste!
3. Press the mixture between your fingers. If you can form a patty with it, you’re good to go. If it’s too crumbly, add the reserved bean liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it sticks together. If the mixture is too wet, add more of the dry base ingredient, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the right consistency.
4. Form the mixture into 8 patties (about ⅓ cup of the mixture each) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate the patties uncovered for 30 minutes. (Don’t skip this step! Resting will help the patties stay together.)
5. When ready to cook, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook 3-4 patties at a time until brown on one side, then flip and brown the other side. It should take about 3-4 minutes per side. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan before cooking each batch of burgers.
6. Serve immediately or cool and then wrap each burger in foil, place them in a freezer bag, and freeze for later.  Reheat in a dry pan on the stove, in the oven or in the microwave.