Vegetarian Hamburger Grill

It is amazing how good a vegetarian burger can taste. What is important is that you should make the patty yourself. There is also no need to have a indoor or outdoor grill to make them, you can use your Cuisinart GR-4 Griddler.

Because the Cuisinart GR-4 Griddler has a floating hinge you can open it up so that it is flat. Using the Cuisinart GR-4 Griddler in this way gives you a big flat area to use for our grilling.

Here is your recipe for today:

Simple Grilled Bean Burgers     

What You Need:

• 2/3 C uncooked bulgur
• 1 1/3 C of water, boiling
• 4 slices whole wheat bread, toasted
• 1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, drained
• 1/4 C of fresh parsley
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large egg
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 T chili powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 8 whole wheat rolls, cut in half

How to Make It:

1. Place the bulgur in a mixing bowl and pour the boiling water over the top.
2. Cover the bowl and set aside to steam the bulgur for 10 minutes.
3. Place the toasted bread in the food processor and process until you have 1/2 C of crumbs then set aside.
4. Place the beans, parsley and garlic into the food processor. (One of the Cuisinart 11 Cup Pro Custom 11 Food Processors is ideal for this purpose)
5. Process the mixture until very smooth.
6. Drain the bulgur and stir it into the bean mixture.
7. Add the bread crumbs and blend until well combined.
8. Add in the egg, tomato paste and soy sauce blended them in well.
9. Sprinkle in the chili powder, salt and pepper and stir until well blended.
10. Set the mixture aside for 30 minutes allowing the mixture to thicken.
11. Heat the grill temperature to medium heat and lightly grease the grill rack.
12. Form the thickened bean mixture into 8 patties and lightly mist both sides with the non stick cooking spray.
13. Grill the burgers for 5 minutes then turn.
14. Continue grilling an additional 5 minutes or until the burgers are as crisp as you like.
15. Place the rolls on the grill and toast for 1 minute.
16. Place the burgers on the toasted rolls and top with your favorite condiments.

Makes 8 servings

Regular hamburger buns do not hold up well with this type of burger. The buns are too soft to hold up. Use a more rustic bun such as whole wheat or rye to enhance the taste of your burger. Black or pinto beans may be used in the place of the kidney beans.