Beetroot Tempeh Smash Burgers excerpted from Mildreds Easy Vegan: Exciting food, simply cooked by Mildreds. Photography by David Loftus.
Bringing the restaurant’s most delicious dishes to your kitchen, Mildreds Easy Vegan is packed full of punchy flavours and food that will satisfy even the most ardent meat eater.
Designed for seasoned vegans and novices alike, this book has more than 115 simple recipes, as well as tips for how best to cook with plants.
Contents include:
Chapter 1: Brunch
Including Tropical fruit buttermilk pancakes, Sweetcorn fritters and Kimchi grilled cheese
Chapter 2: Sharing
Including Hummus three ways, Whipped avocado & jalapeño quesadilla and Tempeh larb
Chapter 3: Light
Including Grilled peach, tomato & Thai basil salad, Mushroom miso broth with gyoza and Smoky chickpea cobb salad
Chapter 4: Comfort
Including Butternut arancini, Sweet potato macaroni cheese and Asparagus chick’n pot pie
Chapter 5: Bread
Including Five spice tofu bánh mì, Persian jackfruit wrap and Portobello French dip
Chapter 6: Sides
Including Harissa patatas bravas, Buttermilk ranch slaw and Lemon cashew rice
Chapter 7: Dressings & Pickles
Including Whipped tahini, Quick pickled carrots and Green tahini dressing
Chapter 8: Sweet
Including Carrot cake mug cake, Ice cream sandwiches and Chocolate bark
Chapter 9: Bakes
Including Dark chocolate chip cookies, Chai banana bread and Ginger molasses cookies
Chapter 10: Drinks
Including Pink rose lemonade, Luxury hot chocolate and Pineapple negroni
Beetroot Tempeh Smash Burgers
The term ‘smash burger’ describes the cooking method of rolling the burger mixture into balls and then smashing them down in a hot frying pan. This results in a thin patty with a delicious crunchy edge. This vegan version of the smash burger is brilliantly simple and packed with protein. We’ve gone for classic burger toppings here, but they’re also great with the same toppings as the Korean-Style Fried Chick’n Burger on page 123.
Serves 4
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 vegan cheese slices (optional)
4 vegan burger buns, halved
4 tablespoons vegan mayo or ranch mayo (shop-bought, or see our recipes on pages 170 and 171)
2 tomatoes, sliced
4 tablespoons Quick Pickled Cucumbers (see page 183) (optional)
1 red onion, sliced into 4mm (¼in) slices and separated into rings
2 large handfuls of iceberg lettuce, shredded
For the smash burger patties
250g (9oz) tempeh, grated on the large side of a box grater
200g (7oz) beetroot, grated on the large side of a box grater
2½ tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
½ teaspoon agave syrup
1½ teaspoons vegan Worcestershire-style sauce
½ teaspoon liquid smoke
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon yeast extract
70g (2½oz) tapioca flour or starch
- Place all the smash burger patty ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well to combine. Using clean hands, shape the mixture into 4 balls.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat until super hot. Carefully place the balls in the pan, spacing them out so each has room to be smashed down. After 30 seconds of searing, use a large, heavy spatula to smash the balls flat until they are less than 1cm (½in) thick. Let them cook for 2–3 minutes, or until the edges start to turn brown, then flip them over and cook for 2–3 minutes on the other side. If you want to make cheeseburgers, put a slice of vegan cheese on top of each patty, then splash the pan with a tiny bit of water and quickly cover with a lid; this will create a steam that will melt the cheese uniformly.
- Meanwhile, lightly toast the burger buns, then spread the mayo on the bottom halves. Top each half with tomato slices followed by a smash burger, then add the pickles (if using), followed by the red onion rings and lettuce. Spread more mayo on the top halves of the buns and place them on top, then serve.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Hamlyn.