veganmofo - restaurant + guacamole bacon burger

Following right on the heels of yesterday's best sandwich post, comes this burger from Red Robin, yet another sandwich. At our house, mofo tends to be a family affair, and one of my daughters suggested we try making Red Robin's Guacamole Bacon Burger for the "restaurant recreation" prompt.

I agreed, but I didn't think it would be that great because, after all, it is just a burger with some toppings, bacon and guacamole. It's not like we've never put guacamole on a burger!

In addition, well, bacon. While I'm all for vegan bacon on many dishes, such as BLT, Mushroom Carbonara, Club Sandwiches, etc., I do get just a tad tired of people putting bacon on EVERYTHING.

Enough already!

...and here's the but: this burger is so freaking good! The combo of the guac, with all the toppings and the crispy, salty vegan bacon is amazing!

I used the bacon from Everyday Vegan Eats (Amazon, B&N) because it is crisp and salty and just so good. You could also use the mushroom bacon from my earlier post of Stuffed Cabbage-style Bowl. Of course, whatever is your favorite bacon would be equally good on this burger.

The guacamole in the recipe is our own that we make all the time, minus the tomato. Since the burger has tomatoes on it already, I felt omitting it this time would be wise.

And if you are new to this site, you would not know that for my first three mofos, Restaurant Recreations was my theme for the entire month.

Let's take a little trip down memory lane. The links are to my previous mofo posts with the recipes.


California Pizza Kitchen's BBQ Pizza:

Chicago Diner's Radical Reuben:

Chili's Cajun Steak:

Pat's Cheese Steak:

Joe's Crab Shack Crab Cakes:

Thanks for coming along! If you want to see the rest of the recreations, search the label #veganmofo below.

Public Service Announcement:

If you haven't enter the contest to win Vegan Bowls (Amazon, B&N) yet, head over to Tuesday's post HERE. Good luck!

Finally, today's creation is Red Robin's Guacamole Bacon Burger:

Guacamole Bacon Burger
Makes 6 burgers

Burgers:
2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 cup frozen corn kernels, frozen
1/2 medium onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2/3 cups vital wheat gluten (Stirred before measuring)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Assembly:
4 burger buns, toasted
1/2 cup shredded vegan cheese or slices of vegan cheese
Vegan mayo
Red onion slices
Tomato slices
Shredded lettuce
Vegan Bacon
Guacamole, recipe below

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the corn, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano and salt and black pepper, to taste and stir and cook until the corn is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, stir and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool thoroughly.
2. Add the cooled mixture to a food processor and pulse just to break up the beans, about 6 (1-second) pulses. Transfer to a bowl and add the gluten flour, lime juice, tamari, chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Knead until the mixture forms gluten threads. Form the mixture into 4 burgers.
3. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with oil and arrange the patties evenly. Bake for 30 minutes-flipping after 15 minutes.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the burger patties and cook for 2 minutes. Flip, add 2 tablespoon cheese to each burger, add 1/4 cup water to the skillet, cover the skillet and cook until the cheese melts.
5 Assemble the burgers by spreading mayo on the bottom buns, add a few onion rings, top with the burger, add a few tomato slices, add bacon, add shredded lettuce, add a good amount of guacamole and add the top bun. Serve.

Guacamole
5 medium ripe Hass avocado, mashed 
3/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 to 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and black pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients in a mediuml bowl using a spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, black pepper and lime juice.



 © 2015 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

veganmofo - childhood meal + stuffed cabbage bowl

Second day of #veganmofo - childhood meal!

The second suggestion from the folks at veganmofo have us recreating a childhood meal. I love developing Hungarian recipes and have done so in both Everyday Vegan Eats and the upcoming cookbook, Vegan Bowls (Amazon, B&N).

Everyday Vegan Eats  (Amazon, B&N) contains my most (most!) favorite Stuffed Cabbage recipe, which is a complete throwback to my childhood. I lived in restaurants and one of my parents most popular dishes was Stuffed Cabbage.

At the restaurant, my dad tweaked the Hungarian-style Stuffed Cabbage to be more Jewish-style with the addition of tomato sauce and sweetness. Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage is sour and made with ground meat and rice and a touch of smoke. Jewish-style Stuffed Cabbage contains tomato sauce and is sweet instead of sour.

I grew up with the Jewish-style Stuffed Cabbage, which explains why it appears in Everyday Vegan Eats! And while I completely love that version and  reserve a spot in my heart for it, on special (and only special!) occasions my dad would make the authentic Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage; therefore, now, I am at a loss as to which to pick for this round of mofo! Thanks, Obama!

However, since my publisher pulled my authentic Stuffed Cabbage-style Bowl from Vegan Bowls and the recipe will not be appearing in it, I get to share a freebie bowl recipe with you!

Typically, publishers pull recipes for lack of space, recipe difficulty or recipe length. In this case, I think maybe a little bit of all three was involved. While this bowl recipe is not too difficult, not too lengthy and does not take up too much space, I agree that it is partly a bit of all three and the decision to omit it was the right one.

Having said that, this is the easiest way to make stuffed cabbage, period. A bit more involved in the multi-tasking area, but definitely worth it.

This is a great time to introduce you to black cardamom. Black cardamom is not to be confused with green cardamom as they are night and day. Black cardamom is smoky and earthy and green cardamom is floral and sweet. I've discovered that I like using black cardamom because it brings smokiness to dishes without using liquid smoke. I love that!

Another very important thing to note: you MUST add the vegan sour cream. Make your own whole foods version or buy store-bought, but the sour cream brings the dish together. Without it, I'm afraid disappointment is in store. There is a creamy, sour, and tangy component that this dish desperately needs and cannot fare well without. Even the non-vegan version needs it, so do not skip it.

Stuffed Cabbage-Style Bowl
Unlike the tomato-based stuffed cabbage that we have come to love, Hungarian stuffed cabbage includes very little tomato. Instead, it is full of soured cabbage. In fact, even the cabbage that the rolls are stuffed in is a head of sour cabbage. To bring this traditional dish to a vegan bowl, I combine sauerkraut and green cabbage. Hungarians wouldn’t dream of preparing any dish without sour cream, so to make this bowl complete, I call for vegan sour cream, either store-bought or homemade, using the recipe from the Paprikás recipe.
Serves 4
SFO

Mushrooms:
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Lentils:
3 ½ cups vegetable broth
1 cup green lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 large black cardamoms
2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
1/2 cup drained sauerkraut

Rice:
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cups long-grain white rice

Lecsó:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 medium bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch slices
2 medium Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
1/2 head small green cabbage, cut into 1/4-inch slices

Sauté:
2 tablespoon whole-wheat pastry or all-purpose flour
1 cup drained sauerkraut
2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil

Vegan sour cream, homemade or store-bought

1. Mushrooms: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Transfer the mushrooms to a baking sheet and bake until considerably shrunk, about 5 minutes. Combine the oil, tamari and paprika in a small bowl and stir into the mushrooms. Stir well and arrange the mushrooms in a single layer. Continue to bake until almost crisp, about 10 to 12 more minutes, stirring midway through cooking. Set aside.
2. Lentils: Combine the broth, lentils, cardamom, paprika and sauerkraut in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce to a strong simmer over medium heat and cook until the lentils are tender but not falling apart. Remove and discard the cardamom. Drain and reserve 1 1/4 cups of the cooking broth.
3. Rice: Heat the water and salt over high heat in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and add the rice. Cook the rice until tender. Drain and set aside.
4. Lecsó: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper, cover and cook until softened, about 4 more minutes. Add a splash of water or broth if needed, and add the tomato, garlic and thyme. Cook until the tomato breaks down, an additional 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook to wilt, about for 3 minutes.
5. Saute: Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour and stir until well incorporated. Add the drained rice, the reserved broth from the lentil, the sauerkraut and the paprika. Stir well and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved lentils, drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil and continue to simmer for an additional 3 minutes.
6. Assembly: Serve the cabbage sauté in bowls, garnished with vegan sour cream and the bacon mushrooms. 

Quick tip: Preheat the oven to 425°F right away. Heat the broth for the lentils and the water for the rice right away. First chop the onions and then begin chopping the mushrooms while the onion cooks. Chop the bell pepper while the onion cooks. Chop the tomato and cabbage while the bell pepper cooks. 

Soy-Free Option: Substitute coconut aminos with a few pinches of sea salt for the tamari.

Substitute: Substitute 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke for the black cardamom.


 © 2015 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

veganmofo - breakfast

First day of #veganmofo - Vegan Month of Food! I know that many people across the vegan blogosphere await the return of veganmofo with bated breath. In fact, many folks prepare their themes and even begin writing posts well before the arrival of the month.

This year the mofoers threw a wrench into well-laid plans and changed the rules, shaking things up quite a bit! The narration has changed a bit and now each day comes with its own unique suggestion of what to post.

The first day's suggestion is breakfast. As soon as I saw that, I knew that my first post would be about the breakfast options in my new cookbook, Vegan Bowls (Amazon, B&N).

This is amazingly exciting for me because breakfast/brunch is always the more challenging meal of the day because aside from standard go-to ideas - cereal, pancakes, waffles, bagels, oatmeal, granola, scrambles -  there is not much of a shake-up.

For Vegan Bowls I pulled all the punches and went around the world to bring you unique breakfast bowls - bowls that maybe you haven't come across or ones that we might not think are traditional breakfast fare, yet they nourish people around the globe.

Take, for instance, Ful Medames Breakfast Bowl. This fava bean bowl is a daily breakfast bowl in the Middle East and North Africa. It is a staple breakfast bowl served with pita bread and a quick radish salad. This stuff is addictive!

From Asia comes THIS typical breakfast/brunch meal: Congee.

Congee is a rice porridge that can be as plain as just the rice cooked in water, to something dazzling and complex with the rice cooked in broth and topped with a variety of extras, such as fried tofu, marinated tempeh, scallions, fried garlic slices, scallions and ginger.

Find out how to make this breakfast in under 30 minutes - a dish that normally needs to cook for about an hour.

Back from my homeland, I bring you this Hungarian Breakfast Bowl, complete with a Hungarian scramble, sausage-style mushrooms and roasted tomatoes. Served with some crisp rye toast, you will be in-the-know with these delicious Hungarian breakfast flavors.

Quinoa has been a staple in South America for eons - they knew long before we did the benefits and nutritious qualities of this tiny pseudocereal.

This mildly sweet take on the normally savory quinoa will have you making it again and again for breakfast. I pair quinoa with oranges, nuts, cardamom and pears. These ingredients all harmonize, and when you make it, you'll see why.

From Mexico, I re-create Huevos Rancheros, an egg-based dish with corn tortillas and ranchero sauce. This one is out of this world and I am very proud to say that I have finally (after years!) got it to taste just right.

In all, there are 12 delectable Breakfast Bowls in Vegan Bowls. Want to see the other recipes in this chapter?

I can honestly say that I love them ALL! I can also testify to the fact that breakfast at our house is no longer a dilemna.

Vegan Bowls (Amazon, B&N) will be released September 15 - in the middle of MoFo! A little more than two weeks off! Eeek! Exciting!!

mediterranean chickpea + tabouli sliders

Day 3 of our Burger Extravaganza is brought to you by these lovely Mediterranean Chickpea and Tabouli Sliders. These sliders are perfect when you are craving good old' fashioned hummus and tabouli, but prefer to have them in every single bite.

These particular sliders are made with freekeh tabouli and cooked chickpeas.

Last year I tested for Tami Noyes' and Celine Steen's upcoming cookbook, The Great Vegan Protein Book, and it is no secret that Tami loves to use freekeh - which is toasted and cracked green wheat. The very best thing about freekeh is that it is loaded with protein.

You can use regular cracked wheat in this recipe (you will need 1 1/2 cups cooked cracked wheat), but I recommend you find freekeh because it is delicious and nutritious.

I love sliders because they are cute as a button, easy to eat and your burger stays relatively together during consumption.

I top these adorable sliders with Tahini-Lemon Sauce that is spiced with just a tad bit of Sriracha, because you can't really go wrong there!

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKPEA AND TABOULI PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Mediterranean Chickpea and Tabouli Sliders

Makes 10 sliders

1 cup packed parsley leaves

½ cup mint leaves

4 scallions, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 ½ cups cooked freekeh, cooled

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (zest lemon first)

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

¾ cup quick cooking oatmeal

¼ cup vegetable broth

1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon red chili flakes

Zest of 1 lemon

10 slider buns, toasted

Garnish: lettuce leaves, thin slices of red bell pepper

Tahini-Lemon Sauce (recipe below)

1. Combine the parsley, mint, scallions, garlic and oil in a food processor. Process until fine and transfer to a large bowl. Add the freekeh , lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper. Set aside.

2. Heat the oatmeal and broth in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir and cook until the oatmeal thickens. Transfer oatmeal to the freekeh mixture.

3. Add the chickpeas, paprika, chili flakes and lemon zest in a food processor. Pulse only to break up the chickpeas into smaller pieces, about 4 (2-second) pulses. Transfer to the freekeh. Mix the burger mixture well using a large wooden spoon or hands. Taste and adjust seasoning. Divide the mixture into 10 portions and form into small 2-inch burgers.

4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking oil or add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Cook the burgers until golden, about 2 minutes per side.

5. Make the sliders by adding a lettuce leaf, a slider burger, a tablespoon of sauce and a few slices of bell pepper to each toasted bun. Serve with extra Sriracha.

Tahini-Lemon Sauce

¼ cup tahini

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

1 to 2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce

3 tablespoons finely minced parsley

1 garlic clove, minced

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well and adjust seasoning with salt, black pepper.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

I am linking to these recipe parties: Healthy Vegan Fridays, What I Ate Wednesday and Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck.