Veggie Burgers

Veggie Burgers (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, 8 servings, 1.5 hours)

Ingredients

·         2 tsp. olive oil

·         ½ small onion, grated

·         2 cloves crushed garlic

·         1 cup shredded carrots

·         1 small summer squash, shredded

·         1 small zucchini, shredded

·         1 ½ cups rolled oats

·         ¼ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

·         1 egg, beaten

·         1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions

1.      Heat the olive oil in a skillet over low heat, and cook the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until tender.

2.      Mix in the carrots, squash, and zucchini. Continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes.

3.      Remove pan from heat, and mix in oats, cheese, and egg. Stir in soy sauce, transfer the mixture to a bowl, and refrigerate 1 hour.

4.      If grilling, preheat the grill for high heat.

5.      (from Original recipe) Place the flour on a large plate. Form the vegetable mixture into eight 3 inch round patties. Drop each patty into the flour, lightly coating both sides.

6.      If grilling, oil the grill grate, and grill patties 5 minutes on each side, or until heated through and nicely browned.

a.       If cooking stovetop, lightly oil a sauté pan and cook patties for about 4-5 minutes on each side over medium-high heat.

I tired these two ways – one with coating in flour and one without.  I liked the ones without flour better – they had a better flavor.  I used my food processor to shred the vegetables, it made things much easier.  I also cut up the carrots into smaller pieces so that they wouldn’t overwhelm the burger mix.  They browned nicely on the outside and stayed soft and tender on the inside.  I thought that they tasted OK, but I have had better homemade burgers.  I wanted to try one without beans, but the ones with are tastier (in fact, this was really light on any taste whatsoever).  They were good with ketchup!  (My husband liked them, though, which is odd.)