« Sweet Home Chicago | Chicken Tagine » |
Review Sun Jan 27 2008
Tuscan Veg Burgers
I fried up oat and nut burger patties with friends tonight. I bought the Tuscan Burger Mix after chewing through the sample-filled aisles at Green Grocer Chicago (whose store opening Drive-Thru mentioned this week) with Sara. An owner, Cassie Green, whose business card gives her the humbling title of "Owner/Head Stockgirl," excitedly showed me their "vegan shelf." The key to these patties - at least for us - was a hot cast iron pan filled with a thin layer of peanut oil. It sealed the soft, tender oatmeal inside with a crispy, hard outside that went brilliantly with the side of kale my roommate tossed around with lemon juice and garlic gomasio, and a side of polenta. After preparing the burger mix on the stovetop, we thought it was too wet to roll into a log and cut, as the instructions suggested. Instead, we hand-formed patties and dropped them into our pan of hot oil. I might try a bit less water next time, but they turned out quite tasty.