We are trying to have more meat free meals as a family and these are a great alternative and very easy to make. My lovely Uni friend Sally from wwww.goodcooks.co.uk gave me the recipe and it's is now a regular in the Cook with Steph kitchen. Also fab on the barbie. They are delicious served in a bun or a toasted wholemeal pita with a dollop of hummus and the tomato salsa from my fajita recipe. I like to use wholemeal seeded bread for the breadcrumbs, so always save the crusts (...unless your husband eats them the night before!).
Makes 4 Burgers
What you need:
3 - 4 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 - 3 tsp Cajun spice
1 x 400g tin mixed beans or chickpeas, drained and rinsed (you can use borlotti, cannellini beans, red kidney beans or butterbeans)
150g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
Small handful of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
Juice of 1⁄2 lime
50g feta, crumbled
1 medium free-range egg, beaten
To serve:
burger buns, bread rolls, brioche or toasted pitas, sliced tomatoes, lettuce leaves
serve with the tomato salsa from the fajita recipe and a dollop of hummus
What to do:
Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the onion, and fry over a gentle heat until softened but not coloured about 5 mins. Add the garlic, and Cajun spice, then fry for 2-3 minutes. Leave to cool.
Put the beans/chickpeas into a bowl and roughly mash with a fork or potato masher. Add the onion mixture, breadcrumbs, coriander, lime juice and crumble in the feta. Stir well to mix. Add the beaten egg, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then mix well to combine.
Wet your hands, slightly, then shape into 4 burgers. If you are going to make them in advance, cover and chill in the fridge until ready to cook.
To cook the burgers, wipe clean the frying pan with a piece of kitchen paper. Add the remaining olive oil and heat over a medium heat. Swirl to coat the base of the pan.
Add the burgers and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Serve in toasted buns/pitas with chopped tomatoes and lettuce.
These are also delicious served with the salsa from the fajita recipe and a dollop of hummus.
Steph’s top tips
You can make these in a food processor but leave the mix quite chunky.
Other spices work well too - smoked paprika, cumin, chilli powder, jerk seasoning, and the fajitas seasoning mix from the fajita recipe on this website.
Use Cheddar instead of feta.
Also, delicious cooked on the barbie, but chill for 30 mins before cooking.
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