The Veggie Slider

December 10, 2008 | By Nick | 7 Comments

Over the weekend Bets had some friends from law school over for a study break and one of them was a vegetarian. I’m a firm believer in respecting people’s food beliefs so I wanted to make something vegetarian that could be a meal and a study break.

I wanted to make something that was small enough to snack on but also substantial. The veggie slider was the perfect answer.

I like meat, but these guys were good:

Sliding into health.

Guy Fieri had a great veggie burger recipe on his Food Network show that I used as the base for this recipe. I changed a few things around based on what I had on hand. Also, I obviously shrunk the size of the patties.

Veggie Burger Sliders
(Makes 16 sliders)
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped finely (I used a few scrap onions)
- 1/2 red pepper, chopped finely
- 1 jalepeno, chopped finely
- 4 cloves garlic, guess what, finely chopped
- 12 ounces black beans (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 12 ounces chickpeas
- 4 Tablespoons black olives, chopped
- 4 Tablespoons artichokes, chopped
- 8 ounces rolled oats (2 1/2 cups-ish)
- 4 Tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 4 eggs (note that this is more than the original recipe. I couldn’t get the mini burgers to hold together with the amount he used)
The Flavor
- 1 Teaspoon paprika
- 1 Teaspoon chili powder
- 2 Teaspoons oregano
- 1 Teaspoon red pepper flake
- 1 Teaspoon cumin
- 1 Teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon sage
- 1 Tablespoon chopped basil

Helpful Equipment:
- Cast Iron Skillet

The first part of this recipe involves some knife work. Considering we are making very small burgers, it is important to have these pretty finely chopped. More important, we need them uniform.

Dicing is important for small burgers.

Put a Tablespoon or two of oil in a sautee pan and get these guys cooking. Don’t cook them all the way though as they will finish cooking later on when we cook the burgers. This is just to get them going. They should still have a bite after this.

Stir it up!

Ok. Once that is done get the largest bowl you have. Take your black beans and chickpeas and process them a few times. If you don’t have a food processor this recipe will be hard, but you could them reasonably combined if you had some quality time with a pastry cutter or fork.

If you have a processor though, that is the way to go. You don’t want a mush though. Some chunks are good. I pulsed mine for a few seconds and they were perfect. I also pulsed my oats a few times to get them a bit finer.

Then you just combine everything!

Looks like mush. Tastes like good mush.

The real flavor in this recipe comes from the ton of spices you add. I felt like I was dumping my entire spice drawer into the bowl. Worth it. Once all the spices combine with the beans and everything they are perfect. I must say I didn’t miss beef for a minute while I was eating these.

I’m getting ahead of myself though. Add your eggs to your mixture and then form 16 small patties. Hopefully you remembered to buy mini-buns as well…

Put a few more tablespoons of oil in your pan and then sautée then lightly for a few minutes on each side.

These stayed together nicely.

These are probably the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had. While I like the beef version, these are a great, healthy alternative. Not to mention these are absolutely awesome on day 2. Take them for lunch the next day and impress all of your vegetarian friends.

These were tasty.

If you liked this dish, use the icons below to share it with others!

« What’s Wrong with What We Eat | Roasted Lemon Chicken »

Economical, Healthy, Main Dishes, Sandwiches, Vegetarian | 7 Comments

7 Responses to “The Veggie Slider”

1

Karolinka27 — December 10, 2008 @ 11:27 am

Yum. I think that you should take your blog and your girlfriend on the road. Come and cook for me in my kitchen in Sofia. Then I’ll take you two out for night (and if you’re lucky a morning) on the town!!

Karolinka
http://karolinkabulgaria.wordpress.com/

[Reply]
2

EB — December 10, 2008 @ 12:50 pm

They look like granola bars but have all those fabulous, savory spices in them hmmmm….

[Reply]
3

HoneyB — December 10, 2008 @ 2:12 pm

This looks great! I love a good veggie burger!

[Reply]
4

Nick — December 12, 2008 @ 12:28 pm

Thansk for the kind replies everyone. They were, in fact, delicious. Possibly better on day 2.

[Reply]
Pingback:Veggie Sliders « Octavia's Vintage
Pingback:10 Twists on the Classic Burger > Start Cooking
5

Sammijoy — May 9, 2013 @ 10:23 am

These were the BEST veggie burgers I’ve ever made, and I’ve tried quite a few recipes. I made them months ago, froze a bunch, and was just reliving their deliciousness for lunch!

[Reply]