Pizza Burger
Back in the day, when my friends and I would spend inordinate amounts of time hanging out at Olympic Star restaurant discussing life, love, and the pursuit of happiness (or something like that), I ate pizza burgers. Lots of pizza burgers.
Now, at Olympic Star, a pizza burger was nothing more than an overcooked hamburger slathered in their one-size-fits-all marinara (you know, the same meat sauce that went with the spaghetti and the lasagna and anything else that was served with a red meat sauce), with a slice of some sort of white cheese on a cheap burger bun.
I can’t even say it tasted all that good (it really was some un-magnificent meat), but it tasted unique, and it was messy, and it was cheap. To a teenage palate, that works.
I’m a bit more picky these days. I prefer to eat food that tastes good, and I prefer to eat food that didn’t moo before it ended up on my plate. I’m still a big fan of a big, messy burger that tastes kind of like pizza, though.
Enter: another recipe from The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet. If you like burgers, this really is a fun cookbook. I have now made 5 or 6 burgers out of this book (and one of the bun recipes, too), and they’ve all been stellar. This time, I tried out the Pizza Burger recipe.
The premise here is that the burger is flavored to taste like pepperoni pizza. I did not have any anise seed, which might have been a critical pepperoni-flavor-component; I’m not sure. I don’t know what anise seed tastes like. I also knew from previous experience that the recipes in this book tend to pack a punch on the spicy side, so I decided to dial the spicy components way back.
The result was a veggie burger with a mild kick and enough pizza flavor to warrant the name Pizza Burger (though maybe not specifically Pepperoni Pizza Burger).
Here’s how it went:
Hello there, tasty holiday beverage! (Hey, we all need inspiration sometimes).
Welcome back, Favorite Cow Towel!
I love my little plastic burger press. These burgers are ready to bake!
It’s a burger, baby.
The recipe (as I made it):
Pizza (Veggie) Burger
Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 30
Keywords: bake sandwich burger vegetarian vegan
Adapted from The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet
Ingredients (4 large or 6 small burgers)
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 cup TVP
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp liquid smoke
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus scant 1/4 cup (divided)
- 7 oz (half can) diced tomatoes
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten flour
- 1/3 cup non-dairy sour cream (such as, Tofutti)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the pepper, paprika, salt, red pepper flakes, sugar, basil, garlic powder, TVP, water, liquid smoke, and 2 tbsp olive oil.
Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Then, let cool for a few minutes.
Add the tomatoes, flour, remaining olive oil, and sour cream.
Mix together for several minutes until mixture thickens and is well incorporated.
Form into 4-6 burger patties.
Place patties on a baking sheet (lined with parchment, if desired).
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, flipping half way through.