Winter meet Summer: Carrot & Zucchini Vegetable Burgers



Last week I might have mentioned snow, but Vancouver is back to normal. And normal for a Vancouver winter means rain and lots of it. When I saw Jan's tweet yesterday afternoon about 2 weeks of rain in the forecast, I almost cried.

So I did what the only rational thing I could think of - I dug into the depths of my freezer to pull out a bag of frozen shredded zucchini. Trust me, it's not as odd as it sounds. You see, last summer when our CSA share was going bonkers with zucchini, I grated a whack-load to freeze for the darkest depths of winter. So for dinner I wanted winter to meet summer. Don't fret if you don't have any zucchini frozen - just pick up a fresh one from the store and grate it. Make sure to let it sit for a bit and then squeeze out any water as you don't want these burgers water-logged.





These little vegetable patties are not only wholesome and good for you, but they're a whole lotta tasty. Some veggie burgers crumble but I found that these had a wonderful texture and they didn't break apart when cooking, so they're easy to whip up for dinner. You could even prep them into patties and then freeze up a bunch for cooking later.

So throw on your favorite burger toppings and think of summertime - cuz that's what I'm going to do!


Carrot & Zucchini Vegetable Burgers
1/2 cup grated zucchini, pressed to remove water
1/2 cup grated carrots
1 small onion, grated
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/2 cup 10 grain cereal or ground whole oats
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon pesto
2 eggs

1 tablespoon oil, for cooking
4 slices of cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425F.

Add zucchini, carrots and parsley together in a bowl and toss so that it gets all mixed up together. Stir in the cereal, bread crumbs, parmesan and the seasonings. When everything looks good and mixed, add in the dijon, pesto and the eggs and use your wooden spoon to get everything well-blended. It should come together to form a dough-like mixture.

Divide into 4 balls and flatten with your hands into burgers. Add oil into a large frying pan. When it's hot, place your burgers into the pan, pressing them down lightly. Flip when golden, about 3-5 minutes per side.

Place burgers on a cookie sheet and top with cheddar cheese slices. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 8 minutes. Serve on toasted rye bread or your favorite burger buns and top with your favorite fixings.

Makes 4 burgers.

By Jeannette Ordas of Everybody likes Sandwiches

Jan Halvarson

14 comments:

marisa said...

sooo going to try this. I've never before attempted a veggie burger patty, wish me luck!

Jordan said...

Those look delicious! I can't wait to try them out.

Antonella said...

wow. I'll try them surely. thanks

Unknown said...

MMM, these look lovely! I will have to try them sometime very soon! Thanks for sharing! xxxxx

alwaysxbeing.blogspot.com

Monika - Twoja Asystentka said...

I love colours - red and yellow, so happy!
I hope the rain will go away soon!
I send you some sunshine from Poland!!!

Janneke said...

Sounds delicious! Thabor for posting! I would love to try. but being in the Netherlands, i have no idea what "old bay seasoning" is. Do you know what is in it, or what it tastes like? Thanks

sarah said...

looks massively delish - am going to try this!

Crystal said...

Looks amazing...dinner tonight!

Eliz said...

Love it when you post veg recipes! Thank you!

kickpleat said...

Janneke, Old Bay seasoning can be left out - I like it because it is a salty seasoning flavoured with celery and other "sea" spices. You can leave it out and add in your own spice blend (just make sure to add salt) or make your own: http://busycooks.about.com/od/homemademixes/r/oldbaymix.htm

Lonely Wife Project said...

Every summer I'm overwhelmed by the number of zucchinis I get from my CSA and I feverishly try to incorporate them into every meal until we start to loathe them. What a good idea to shred and freeze! I'm soooo doing that!

Bijoux said...

I'll take rain over copious amounts of wet snow any day :) I love making homemade veggie burgers. The fresh flavour surpasses any frozen veg burger I can get from the supermarket. I'm afraid to buy zucchini in the winter months because they are obscenely huge (they must be genetically altered) and obviously imported from Mexico. I'm filing this away for when local zucchini season arrives.

~Coley said...

I made these last night and they are sooo good. A great vegetarian recipe, even if you aren't one. Thanks for this!!

Unknown said...

These veggie burgers were very tasty, can I ever return to Boca Burgers? Incidentally, the recipe should be amended to include the onions.