Denver Omelette Burger

Denver Omelette Burger

from The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet, Joni Marie Newman, Fair Winds Press, 2011.

I’m a fan of burgers though I do prefer them without the bread roll. They’re great this way if you want a quick snack that you can eat in your hand but most of the burgers you buy are so packed with extras that squashing them to mouth-sized bites doesn’t always work—and I always end up messy with bits of burger everywhere. If you buy one in a café you find it comes on a plate with salad and chips. Trying to eat a burger with a knife and fork is not exactly easy either.

But I do like burgers. What I tend to do is make the burger without the bread and serve it on a plate with salad or vegetables. So does that change its name to ‘rissole’? It does serve though as a substitute for the meat and three vegies to have a burger or two (minus the bread roll) and three vegies.

I now have two books that specialise in vegetarian burgers. This one, my latest, is purely for vegan burgers. Its claim to be ‘the best veggie burgers on the planet’ is a bit far fetched but I’m certainly willing to try them out and see how they rate for me.

The book is arranged in chapters which roughly correspond to parts of the world—so that it can match its ‘best in the planet’ claim. There’s sections like Burgers from the Far East, Burgers from the Boot (Italy), Burgers with Latin Flavour’ and so on. There’s also extra material on condiments and sauces, breads and buns and so on.

The Denver Omelette Burger says that it has all the flavours you remember from the traditional Denver Omelette. I have no idea what this omelette tastes like so I’m at a slight disadvantage with nothing to compare it to.

It’s made with tofu blended with lots of flavourings: garlic powder, onion powder, mustard and some spices. Onions and green and red capsicums are fried until softened then added to the original mixture. Vegetarian ham bits are added plus liquid smoke. I could not obtain liquid smoke as I believe it is not permitted in Australia (and European countries) as it could be carcinogenic. I guess it really wasn't needed unless the Denver Omelette has a smoky flavour. 

Chickpea flour was added to bind the mixture together. At first I thought it was not going to hold together but I shouldn’t have been worried as it worked well. We had it with a small salad and some vegetables.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔