gyro tempeh burger

Day 15 VeganMoFo is all about gyros and tempeh. Making this Gyro Tempeh Burger was just like eating a wonderful gyro, burger style. The tempeh is marinated in a Greek seasoned oil and is then served with a Cucumber Tzaziki.

I served these burgers on flat rounds, which mimic a pita quite nicely, but you can, of course, serve them in pita bread. Even if you use regular pita, make sure to toast it well to offer some desired crunch.

The tzaziki adds enough of a sauce-feel that there is no actual need for anything additional.  Gyros were one of my most favorite sandwiches pre-veg days, so I wouldn't steer you wrong.

If you happen to have Everyday Vegan Eats, make sure to check out my Greek Gyro with Tzaziki Sauce (page 77) for a more authentic version of a gyro.

Just as Tami Noyes (Vegan Finger Foods and American Vegan Kitchen) will make a Reuben out of anything, (really ANything,  I mean ANYTHING), I'll do the same with a gyro, hence this not-so-traditional burger.



This is the very last day to enter the giveaway for "Vegan Tacos" by Jason Wyrick. Enter HERE!

GYRO TEMPEH BURGER PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Gyro Tempeh Burger with Cucumber Tzaziki

Makes 4 burgers

1 (8-ounce) package tempeh

4 tablespoons Gyro Seasoned Oil, divided, recipe below

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

1 medium cucumber, peeled into thin stips

¼ cup unsweetened plain vegan yogurt

¼ teaspoon red chili flakes

4 thin burger rounds or two pita bread, halved and split

Lettuce, tomato and onion, as needed

1. Cut the tempeh in half. Cut each half in half diagonally. Cut each quarter in half through the middle so that you have 8 thin slices of tempeh. Combine 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, salt, black pepper and sliced tempeh in a large bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Squeeze the cucumber slices with your hand to eliminate much of the liquid. Make the tzaziki by combining the cucumber, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon lemon  juice, yogurt, and chili flakes in a medium bowl. Set aside.  

3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the tempeh in the skillet until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Take care adding the tempeh to the hot skillet; the marinade will sputter.

4. Add the reserved marinating onion and herbs to the skillet and cook until golden.

5. Oil the rounds with the seasoned oil and toast in the skillet until golden.

6. Assemble the burgers by layering lettuce, tomato onion, 2 tempeh slices and tzazki on each bottom toasted round and finish with the top buns. Serve.

Gyro Seasoned Oil

½ cup neutral oil

10 garlic cloves, minced

½ medium onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon Rosemary

1. Combine the oil, garlic, onion, oregano and Rosemary in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

2. Strain the oil, reserving the vegetables.

3. The oil will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

eggplant sriracha bbq burger

Day 14 VeganMoFo Burger Hoopla continues with this Eggplant Sriracha BBQ Burger with Zucchini Slaw. This is an Asian-inspired burger of eggplant slices grilled and basted in Sriracha BBQ Sauce.

There are Asian flavors spiking this burger throughout, in the BBQ sauce and the slaw: tamari, sriracha, sesame seed oil, rice vinegar and Chinese 5-spice powder. I love using that spice because most of us have it in the back of the cabinet, yet seldom get the chance to cook with it; it adds so much flavor!

You can see all those wonderful flavors coating the grilled eggplants. So good and so fast!

As an aside, you can see hot hot it is in San Diego: we don't have central air, and as soon as I took the bottle of sriracha out of the fridge, it immediately began to condense the water from the air and the label got all soggy. Sheesh.

Oops! Who is that?! Jimmy photobombed my shoot. He took a sniff, turned right around, not being one for eggplant, and promptly went to the back of the table to lay down for the duration. Spot him in the remaining photos.

As soon as I moved the food out of the way, he claimed his rightful spot in the front. I've noticed that he and I are taking turns using the table!

This burger is outrageously good! Even my youngest took a careful bite, looked at me wide-eyed and said, "I cannot believe I like this so much - it has everything I don't like!" She dislikes eggplant, ginger, ziucchini and bbq sauce.

Goes to prove that the sum of the parts can be very different than the parts themselves.

EGGPLANT SRIRACHA BBQ BURGER PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Eggplant Sriracha BBQ Burger with Zucchini Slaw

Makes 4 to 6 burgers

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil

1 small onion, minced

6 garlic cloves, minced

⅔ cups ketchup

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon reduced sodium tamari

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons sriracha (or more)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder

½ teaspoon dry ground ginger

2 tablespoons vegetable broth

1 large eggplant, cut into ¾-inch slices (you will need 8 slices for 4 burgers)

4 to 6 (3-inch) buns, not sliced

Vegan Mayonnaise, to taste

Zucchini Slaw, recipe below

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and sesame oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until golden, about 8 minutes. Add the ketchup, 2 tablespoons tamari, vinegar, sriracha, brown sugar, 5-spice and ginger, stir and cook over medium-low for 8 minutes to thicken and marry flavors. Remove from heat.

2. Combine the remaining teaspoon oil and tamari and the vegetable broth in a large bowl. Toss the eggplant in the marinade and set aside while grill pan preheats.

3. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Spray each slice of eggplant with oil before placing on grill pan. Cook the eggplant until almost tender, about 2 minutes per side. Baste the eggplant with the BBQ sauce and cook until glazed and the eggplant is tender, about 1 more minute per side.

4. Toast the buns to warm. Cut the buns in half almost all the way through, but not completely. This will help keep the sandwich together. Spread a little mayo on one side of the bun, add 2 eggplant slices, a bit more BBQ sauce and top generously with the slaw. Serve.

Zucchini Slaw

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari

2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon fresh ground ginger

1 garlic clove. minced

1 medium zucchini, julienned or grated (use a julienne peeler)

2 cups shredded baby kale

¼ small onion, grated

2 tablespoons minced cilantro

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Combine the lime juice, tamari, sugar, ginger and garlic in a large bowl.

2. Add the zucchini, kale, onion and cilantro. Toss to mix. Season with salt and black pepper.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

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vegan vegetarian meatless plant-based

If you haven't seen the giveaway for the cookbook Vegan Tacos by Jason Wyrick, it is HERE. Don't miss it.

fajita burger

Day 13 VeganMoFo is this loaded Fajita Burger with Avocado Sour Cream. It is packed with fajita seasoning and fajita veggies, all stuffed onto a corn and bean burger. What do you add to a fajita? Cheese, sour cream and avocado! Done!

This was one terribly delicious burger! I charred the bun a little to give it an extra smoky flavor, but those veggies deliver on their own.

Fajitas are my absolute favorite meals to grab at  Mexican or Tex-Mex places, so for me this was a must make burger. It's an easy one to make that takes you to a Mexican mom-and-pop joint without leaving your kitchen.

Don't miss my twitter chat with The Food Duo tonight at 8 EST and 5 PST.  If you haven't checked out their List-mania theme for MoFo, get a move on.

HERE is the twitter chat link (and you should also follow me on Twitter): @ZsuDever.

Last order of business, remember to enter the giveaway for "Vegan Tacos"  HERE.

Back to the burger...

FAJITA BURGER PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Fajita Burger with Avocado Sour Cream

Makes 6 burgers

2 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 cup frozen corn kernels, frozen

1/2 medium onion, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 (15.5-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

3/4 cups vital wheat gluten (Stirred before measuring)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

4 burger buns, toasted

1/2 cup shredded vegan cheese

Fajita Veggies, recipe below

Avocado Sour Cream, recipe below

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the corn, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano and salt and black pepper, to taste and stir and cook until the corn is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, stir and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool thoroughly.

2. Add the cooled mixture to a food processor. Add the cilantro and pulse just to break up the beans, about 6 (1-second) pulses. Transfer to a bowl and add the gluten flour, lime juice, tamari, chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Knead until the mixture forms gluten threads. Form the mixture into 4 burgers.

3. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with oil and arrange the patties evenly. Bake for 30 minutes-flipping after 15 minutes.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the burger patties and cook for 2 minutes. Flip, add 2 tablespoon cheese to each burger, divide the fajita veggies evenly on top of each burger, add 1/4 cup water to the skillet, cover the skillet and cook until the cheese melts.

5 Make the burgers by spread the bottom buns with avocado sour cream, add a burger and add the top bun. Serve.

Fajita Veggies

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 small bell peppers, mixed colors, sliced thin

1/2 medium onion, sliced thin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and spices and stir and cook until crisp-tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

Avocado Sour Cream

1/2 cup vegan sour cream

1 medium ripe Hass avocado, mashed well

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Salt and black pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl using a spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, black pepper and lime juice.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

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I am linking to these recipe parties: Healthy Vegan Fridays, What I Ate Wednesday and Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck. 

 

ghoulish burgers

Day 12 of  Vegan MoFo takes us clear into next month. We celebrate Halloween early at the Dever residence all in the name of helping you all plan for your personal celebrations in October. What good would it do to present this handsome burger next month? Oh, the sacrifices!

I saw a version of these cute sandwiches in a magazine a few years ago and have made been making them using Chicken-Free Salad filling (EVE, page 70). You can get the recipe from Everyday Vegan Eats right HERE, where Olives for Dinner reviewed the book and shared it.

The above makes for a faster and easier filling, but for our burger MoFo, we upped the difficulty. These made-from-scratch burgers are chili-flavored and use cannellini beans and gluten as the burger base. It is then topped with an easy cheese sauce, olives and small dill pickles for the fangs. Boom!

I might be going on about it being difficult, but that is only in respect to the ease of the chicken-free filling I'm used to making. In fact, these little gems just took longer, but didn't need much more effort.

A little tid-bit for you: if you make it, make a few, looking all cute and adorable, complete with the cheese sauce hair (or face?), olive eyes and pickle fangs, but do yourself, and your guests a favor, and make rest with the burgers with the bun on top of all that gooey-ness, Save some napkins and guest embarrassment at having cheese sauce splattered all over their mug.

Happy Early Halloween!

GHOULISH BURGERS PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Ghoulish Burgers

Makes 6 burgers

 

2 tablespoons neutral oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans

2 teaspoons mild chili powder

1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon oregon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon red chili flakes

Fresh ground black pepper

½ cup vital wheat gluten (stirred before measuring)

2 tablespoons vegetable broth

6 slider buns, split and toasted

Vegan mayonnaise, as needed

6 mini pickles, cut in half lengthwise

12 slices of black olives

Easy Cheese Sauce, recipe below

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions and cook until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Add the beans, chili powder, salt, oregano, cumin, chili flakes, black pepper and the onions to a food processor. Pulse until the beans are broken up, but not paste. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

3. Add the gluten to the bean mixture and knead for 4 minutes until gluten strands form. Divide the mixture into 6 portions and form into burger patties about the size of your buns.

4. Spray a baking sheet with oil, arrange the burgers on a sheet, add ¼ cup water around the burgers, cover tightly with foil and bake in a 300-degree F oven (no need to preheat) for 30 minutes. Uncover, flip the burgers and continue to bake for another 20 minutes.

5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the burgers until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Add the vegetable broth, cover and steam for 2 minutes.

6. Make the burgers by spreading mayo on the bottom bun, adding a burger patty, 2 halves of pickles for the fangs, a top bun, a drizzle of sauce, 2 slices of olives for eyes and a toothpick to hold it all together. Serve.

 

Easy Cheese Sauce

1 tablespoon neutral oil

1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon minced garlic

½ cup unsweetened plain vegan milk

1 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese

1. Heat the oil in a small sauce pan. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Using a whisk, stir in the milk and cook until lightly thickened. Add the cheese and whisk until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

oolong banh mi burger - vegan mofo chopped

Day 11 #VeganMoFo is brought to you thanks to Vegan MoFo Chopped Edition 2014! Check the deets HERE.

Vegan MoFo Chopped! is similar to Food TV's Chopped! show (HERE), except we get all cruelty-free ingredients and we have a heck of a lot more time to complete the challenge than the show's participants, although, that is partly because we have to procure all our own required food stuffs instead of having them be conveniently supplied by the host.

MoFo Chopped! Cat Chef

Check out these ingredients: (thanks, Jess!)

Jalapeño
Radish
Oolong Tea 
Fresh Prune Plums

As I am sure many a Chopped! contestant has thought...wtf?!?

Since I have this Burger Extravaganza theme this MoFo, my ingredients had to fit into my burger theme, and therefore, I decided early on, no matter what the mystery ingredients turned out to be, my submission would be a Burger.

My offering: Oolong Banh Mi with Grilled Plum Sauce and Pickled Jalapeños and Radishes  .

A quick run-down of my process:

I decided on a banh mi burger because the ingredients are so obviously begging to be banh mi. ( At this point I was wondering just how any Asian dishes there would be. No matter. )

• I made a tofu-gluten burger infused with oolong tea and minced jalapeños.

• I pickled jalapeños, radishes, slivers of onion and carrots with vinegar and oolong tea.

• I grilled plums to add to the burgers and make a sauce to be basting the burgers.

The oolong tea falls somewhere between the strong and bitter black tea and the much milder green tea, so the tea infusion used in the burger itself and the pickling veggies had to be strong enough to impart enough flavor without being overwhelmed by the more assertive jalapeño and radish.

Because banh mi has a sweet component, the plums were perfect, especially after grilling, which enhances the plums' sweetness, and after a few minutes of macerating in brown sugar.

Result: Flavorful and delicious; all four of the basket ingredients prominent without overshadowing each other and the burger was as close to perfect as I dare admit.

OOLONG BANH MI BURGER PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Oolong Banh Mi Burger with Plum Sauce and Pickled Jalapeños and Radishes

Makes 6 burgers

 

2 cups hot water

4 oolong tea bags

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon neutral oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

7 ounces (about ½ a (14-ounce) package) firm tofu, pressed 15 minutes

½ cup vital wheat gluten (stirred before measuring)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 medium jalapeño, minced

4 fresh prune plums (or purple plums), cut into ½-inch slices

1 tablespoon brown sugar

6 (4-inch) rolls, split and toasted

Pickled Jalapeños and Radishes, recipe below

Cilantro, optional

1. Steep the tea bags in the hot water for 10 minutes. Remove the bags and discard.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions and cook until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet. Add the tofu, crushing it with your hand. Stir and cook until the tofu is dried out and is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add ½ cup of the tea infusion and cook until it evaporates, about 1 minute. Cool the tofu completely.

4 Combine the cooled tofu, cooled onion, gluten, salt,  jalapeño and 6 tablespoons of tea infusion in a medium bowl. Knead until gluten strands form, about 4 minutes. Form the mixture into 6 thin patties, about the size of your rolls.

5. Spray a baking sheet with oil, arrange the burgers on a sheet, add ¼ cup water around the burgers, cover tightly with foil and bake in a 300-degree F oven (no need to preheat) for 30 minutes. Uncover, flip the burgers and continue to bake for another 20 minutes.

6. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Toss the sliced plums with 1 teaspoon oil and grill until tender, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the plums to a large bowl and toss with the brown sugar. Set aside to macerate for 10 minutes. Set aside 6 slices for the burgers and transfer the remaining plums to a personal blender. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt.  

6. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the burgers until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Add a few tablespoons of sauce to each burger, cook for 1 minute, flip, add more sauce, cook for 1 minute and flip. Cook again for 1 more minute to sear the sauce onto the burgers.

7. Make sandwiches by adding a burger to each roll, a grilled plum slice and plenty of pickled veggies. Add a few sprigs of cilantro, if using.

 

Pickled Jalapeños and Radishes

8 radishes, sliced thin

2 small carrots, julienned

¼ small onion, sliced thin

¾ cup oolong tea infusion (from the burger recipe above)

¼ cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon natural sugar

¾ teaspoon sea salt

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside for at least 15 minutes to pickle. This will keep for up to 3 days in a covered container in the refrigerator.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

As promised, the winner of my copy of Vegan without Borders by Robin Roberson is comment number...

out of 47 comments.....

The next giveaway will be on Tuesday because I couldn't host a giveaway for a taco cookbook on any other day besides Tuesday...

anyway, the winner of this giveaway is....

comment number...acording to random.org...and next time I will be doing this via rafflecopter...heading into the new era, my friends....

the winner is.... number seven, Amelia. You are the winner. Congratulations! I'll be in touch! Thanks to everyone who entered and come back for more mofo fun.