Hi, friends. I am not a vegetarian. But I do love vegetables, and I find most vegetarian-friendly foods quite delicious. The thing is, I didn’t set out to make veggie burgers when I accidentally created this wonderful culinary Frankenstein. (Does that description make it sound bad? Because it tastes amazing.) No, friends, I was trying to make my Oma’s veggie pancakes, and neither she nor I could remember what she used to put in them. So I experimented a bit, and a patty-shaped star was born.

Yea, I used frozen broccoli. So shoot me!

Veggies a-blendin’

Who knew you could caramelize onions so well in soy sauce?

Batter!

Making patties…

…frying patties

Accidental Veggie Burgers, on PhD Kitchen

I swear I didn’t plan this:

• 3 cups frozen broccoli, defrosted (in the microwave with some warm water) and drained. I measured it out before I defrosted the broccoli, so the end result turns out to be less than 3 cups. I bet you could use fresh broccoli, but then you’d have to cook it first, and that’s no fun and also extra effort. Who are you trying to impress?
• 1 1/2 cups carrot pieces (I used baby carrots, because that’s what I had)
• 1 1/2 cups cornstarch
• 5 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 large yellow onion (approximately 1 cup), chopped small
• 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• Olive oil (or your favorite alternative) for frying

First step: blend your broccoli and carrots in a food processor until they’re chopped small (see photo) and well-integrated.

Next, cook the onion and soy sauce in a frying pan on medium-high heat until the onion is transparent and most of the moisture has evaporated. A few minutes into it, add the brown sugar. Keep stirring the onions and keep an eye on them while they’re cooking, to avoid burning and dryness.

When the onions are finished, combine all of the remaining ingredients (except for the oil) in a large bowl and mix them together with your hands, or with a spoon, until everything looks even.

The last step is to fry the darn things! Begin by heating your oil in a large pan. Form palm-sized, 1/2″-thick patties with your hands, and be sure to squeeze any excess moisture out of each one before you place it in the pan. Each patty needs less than a minute to cook on each side; take them out and rest them on a plate covered with a paper towel once they’ve browned to your liking on both sides. Add olive oil to the pan as needed. I fried 5 or 6 at a time.

This recipe makes about a dozen burgers. I didn’t have any buns on hand when I made them (because I didn’t think I was making burgers), so my husband and I dipped them in hoisin sauce and ate them with our hands!