To coincide with World Vegetarian Day this was probably the most unusually named recipe that we ever brought to you. Take a look at the delightful Umami Bomb Mushroom Burgers Recipe.
Every year on October 1st, World Vegetarian Day kicks off a month of parties, potluck, presentations, food tasting displays…and lots of friendly discussions!
For those new to vegetarianism, it serves as an enticement to give meatless fare a try (even for a day) and learn about its many benefits. And, of course, it’s the perfect occasion for vegetarians and those already moving towards plant-based diets to celebrate their healthy, compassionate food choices.
So to tie in with that we thought we’d search out a vegetarian recipe for you, and when looking down a list a recipe’s one name instantly jumped out at us – largely due to its unusualness admittedly – however when we saw the Umami Bomb Mushroom Burger we knew it just had to feature this week.
So, what exactly is umami? Well, it’s the black sheep of the 5 basic tastes (you know, along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter) because it’s used a lot less often to describe food unless you happen to hang out with food snobs on the regular. The word itself is Japanese, meaning ‘pleasant savory taste’, but it’s a lot more complex-tasting than just simply savory.
The taste of umami is thanks to something called glutamate, as in the flavour enhancer, monosodium glutamate AKA MSG. But fear not. If you’re not down with MSG, then there are naturally-occurring glutamates in tons of other foods. For example, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, soy sauce, and Marmite are all loaded to the gills with the stuff.
And you don't have to be a vegetarian to appreciate this recipe either. Ok let’s get on with it…
Umami Bomb Mushroom Burgers Recipe
Serves 6-8 Burgers
Ingredients
• 1 pound hulled barley, cooked
• Oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, rinsed and roughly chopped
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, rinsed and roughly chopped
• 5 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, and/or parsley
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon marmite
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 2½ cups panko bread crumbs, or as needed
Toppings (Optional):
• Buns
• Avocado ribbons, see note
• Sliced red onion
• Radish sprouts
Instructions
1 - Cook the barley according to package directions. Set aside.
2 - In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and saute until they release their juices, about 8 minutes. Stir in the onion and saute until softened, about 4 minutes, then add in the garlic and cook together, stirring, for an additional minute.
3 - Transfer the mushroom mixture to a food processor along with the sun-dried tomatoes and half of the barley. Pulse a few times to combine everything into a thick, chunky paste-like texture. Make sure there are still visible chunks, you don't want your mixture to be overly mushy.
4 - In a large bowl, combine the processed mushroom mix with the remaining barley, parmesan cheese, herbs, soy sauce, marmite, salt, pepper, and eggs.
5 - When you're ready to cook the burgers, add in the panko bread crumbs, a bit at a time, until the burgers are still moist but not too wet, and hold together decently. Shape the mixture into patties (I like to use aburger mold), and then pat additional bread crumbs into the tops and bottoms to help the patties hold their shape.
6 - Heat ½" of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the patties and cook until darkly browned on the bottom and holding together well, about 4-5 minutes on each side.
7 - Top as desired and eat warm.
Notes:
For the avocado ribbons, halve and peel the outside of the avocado. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the avocado flesh into strips and then roll them up as desired.
For this and more great recipes please head on over to host thetoast.com or to find out more about World Vegetarian Day please see here.