Baba Ghanoush Burgers

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

The idea of using what is basically a dip as the basis for a burger was interesting. I’m not totally convinced that this one really worked but I did give it a try.

I’ve made several burgers from this extravagantly boastfully titled cookery book. They have usually worked in various degrees of successfulness. Whenever they don’t quite match up it is in their moistness; they are usually a bit on the dry side and require plenty of sauce to overcome this.

The baba ghanoush burgers started off by frying eggplant in some sesame oil. When it was ready garlic, chopped onion, cumin and seasonings were added. They were cooked for a quarter of an hour.

Stock was then added with TVP granules. The mixture was covered, removed form the heat and left to stand for about 10 minutes.

Chickpea flour was then added. The mixture was covered and placed in the fridge for about half an hour. It was suggested that the mix be left for as long as possible for the flour to absorb the flavours. I left mine for about an hour and a half.

The mix was shaped into patties and baked for 20 minutes. They were then given a few minutes in a frying pan to give them a crunchier crust.

I served them with garlic artichoke spread from the same book. The burgers certainly needed plenty of moistening. I suspect it is the chickpea flour which this book seems to favour as a binding agent. Next time I make something from here I’ll watch this element. I think they could do with less, or perhaps a flour which is less drying.

To accompany the burgers I made River Cottage garlicky flatbread.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔