Sunday, January 9, 2011

Favorite Veggie Burger

Now, don't get me wrong. I enjoy a boca burger now and then, but the best veggie burger my mom and I have ever had is at Honey Cafe in downtown Glen Ellyn. http://honeycafe.net/ I love this place, because of it's great atmosphere and delicious, locally grown food. Our rendition of the Honey veggie burger was not as good as the real thing, but it still tasted really good and I'd make it again.... so here goes!


Here are the ingredients we used:
2 Sweet Potatoes
1 Banana Squash
1 Zucchini 
1 Carrot
1 Tomato
3 Green Onions
 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
Salt and Peppa
French's French Fried Onions (Very Important! :)
Wheat buns
Trader Joe's Sweet Potato Fries
3/4 cup Mayonaise
1 Teaspoon Harissa (Found at Mediterranean Oasis store)
2 Teaspoons Heinz Chili Sauce
Vegetable Oil

At Honey they have this 'Harissa Mayo' they serve on the burger and with the fries as a dipping sauce that is... amazing... but we have not been able to successfully recreate it (but we still like the version we made). Also, Harissa is somewhat hard to find, my mom found it at a Mediterranean grocery store.


Now, before you start, it is VERY important that you have a 1980's food processor. One from the 2000's just will not do.


First, peel the two sweet potatoes. Chop the sweet potatoes, squash, carrots and zucchini into 2 inch pieces and shred in the food processor. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, add in finely chopped green onions, minced garlic, salt and peppa. 


Now, add a few teaspoons of vegetable oil to a large pan on medium heat. Saute the vegetable mixture, mixing it periodically for about 6-7 minutes. Then allow the mixture to cool. 


Mix in the breadcrumbs, yo. Hand-pack the mixture into 4 large patties and carefully place onto a plate. Refrigerate for 1 hour to cool down the little babies and help them keep their form.


Now rinse out your large pan and add some mo' vegetable oil to it. Time to cook the burgers! Cook until each side is golden brown. Be careful when you flip them because they are very... mushy (for lack of a better word) and have trouble keeping their shape.


When they are done, they should look something like this...or else you really messed up. Just kidding.


To make the harissa mayo, simply mix the mayo, harissa and chili sauce in a small bowl. The sweet potato fries are easy to make- just follow the directions on the bag and bake for about 20 minutes. Toast the buns and place about a tablespoon of mayo on the top bun with a bunch of french fried onions. Place your burger on the other bun with a slice of tomato (if you like them).


Position the plate so that your food looks like a face (necessary step) and enjoy!






3 comments:

  1. Probably gonna have to make this! Did you just guess what ingredients were in it?

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  2. You should! They list on the Honey menu that they use sweet potato, squash and zucchini... after that we kind of just guessed.

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  3. I was VERY pleased with the way these veggie burgers turned out! A great effort! I thought they tasted a lot like the ones at Honey. I like lots of french fried onions on mine. Trader Joe's sweet potato frites are the best and a perfect compliment to the burgers. It was an interesting experience buying harissa at the Mediterranean store! We will continue our quest to create the perfect harissa mayo!

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