Potato-Free Veggie Burgers on Herbed One-Hour Buns

To download a copy of the recipe for Herbed One-Hour Buns, click HERE.

To download the recipe for the Veggie Burgers, click HERE.

A warm Kissing the Cook welcome to new subscriber Hayley. Greetings!


Meat-free patties, affectionately known as veggie burgers, might at first seem to be a product of the age of Aquarius and health-conscious eating, but they’ve really been around much longer than that. On several continents as well. And as good as many of the patty recipes are, they have (to me, at least) one great shortcoming: whatever vegetables are used to make the patty are mixed into a potato base. I love potatoes as much as anyone, but if I wanted a “carb burger” I’d have asked for one. I want my veggie burger to be a veggie burger.

In today’s recipe for Potato-less Veggie Burgers on Herbed One-Hour Buns, the vegetables are cooked in a base of grated carrots that were simmered in vegetable broth (with a splash of white wine for good measure) till they’re the consistency of the grated potatoes so many other recipes use. There are still carbs, of course – there’s whole wheat flour in the mix for consistency and, of course, you’re serving your veggie burger on a bun. (You can choose to make the herbed one-hour buns included here, or use ready-made buns. You make the call.) Either way, these are both healthy and tasty.

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin.

• If you’ve never made bread before, these one-hour buns are a good introduction. They’re made with about twice as much yeast as regular bread dough, and so rise and proof much faster. (They may end up taking a little longer than an hour to make, but you get the idea.) It’s an easy bread to make, even on relatively short notice, and is an extremely useful item to have in your repertoire. This recipe makes 12 burger-size rolls, which is twice the number you’ll need for the burgers. It’s ok. They’re good rolls. You’ll use them.

• When cutting the vegetables for making the Veggie Burger, it’s important to get a good fine chop as shown in the photos. The smaller the pieces, the better the patty will hold together when everything is mixed. (The pieces should, of course, be as close to the same size as possible for even cooking.)

• If you like, you can make these into sliders instead of full-size burgers. Just make the patties and the buns smaller.

This recipe makes six meal-size Veggie Burgers, plus additional rolls.

First, let’s make our herbed buns. (If you’re using ready-made buns, just skip this part.)

In a small bowl, dissolve two ¼ ounce packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast and 3 Tbsp sugar in ½ cup of very warm water (about 110 degrees) and let stand for 5 minutes. The mixture should become frothy.

Mix 3 cups of all-purpose flour, ½ tsp baking soda and 1-1/2 tsp salt together in a large mixing bowl. (Be sure to mix the dry ingredients well. If the yeast you’re about to add comes into direct contact with the salt, it will kill the yeast and your bread won’t rise.) Add the yeast mixture, 1 cup of skim milk and 2 Tbsp of melted butter substitute. Add 1 tsp dried marjoram.

While mixing, add up to an additional 1-1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a dough.

When all of the flour is incorporated, knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding some additional dough flour if necessary for a smooth texture.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set the bowl on the stove, and let the dough rise till doubled in size, about 25 minutes.

After the dough has risen, press it down to deflate it. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and divide it into 12 equal parts. Shape each into the desired shape. To get a classic roll shape as shown:

• Roll each dough piece into a strand about ¾” in diameter and around 9” long.

• Gently tie the strand into an overhand knot.

• Tuck the two ends of the knot, one on top and one on the bottom, into the rest of the roll.

Place the formed dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon baking sheet, and cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap. Let proof at room temperature for another 20 minutes.

While the rolls are proofing, preheat oven to 425 degrees. (The top of the stove while the oven is preheating is a good place to proof the rolls.)

Bake the rolls until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes. Let the rolls cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then place them on a rack to cool.

Now for the Veggie Burgers!

Heat ½ Tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Add 1 cup of finely chopped celery, ½ a finely chopped medium red onion (about ½ cup); ¼ cup very finely chopped red bell pepper; and 1 tsp very finely chopped jalapeno; and let cook for about five minutes.

Add ½ tsp chili powder; ½ tsp paprika; and 1 Tbsp salt, and heat until cooked through. Add 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic and cook for another minute, then transfer the cooked vegetables to a bowl and set aside.

Put 2 cups of grated carrots in the same skillet, and add enough vegetable broth to just cover. (That will usually be about 1 to 1-1/4 cups.) Add a splash of white wine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the carrots are soft but not mushy. This can take several minutes of simmering. Be patient with it.

Add the cooked carrots to the cooked vegetables, along with a thawed and drained 10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary; and 1 egg-substitute egg.

Add enough whole wheat flour to make the mixture thick enough to form patties, about ¾ cups.

When the mixture is the right texture, you should be able to make it a large patty in the bowl.

Divide the mixture into six parts and form patties on a foil-lined baking sheet. Chill the patties in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

When the patties have been chilled, heat ½ Tbsp of olive oil and a little butter substitute in a non-stick skillet, and cook the patties in batches until cooked through and well-browned on the outside, about five minutes per side. Don’t be afraid to let get a good browning as shown in the photo.

Serve on the rolls with the desired toppings. In the photo, I’ve got a slice of fat-free cheese, ketchup and mustard (my usual burger toppings), and I did another with steak sauce and some prepared horseradish. Just treat it as you would any other burger, and I believe you’ll be pleased with the result!

To download a copy of the recipe for Herbed One-Hour Buns, click HERE.

To download the recipe for the Veggie Burgers, click HERE.

Hope you enjoy these easy, good-for-you burgers, and that you’ll visit again next week for another kitchen-tested recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Half-the-Time Cinnamon Raisin Bread

There are no problems, just opportunities.

What started out as a problem – the plagiarism of one of my articles by another blog – opened the door to adding a new feature to this site that makes it easier to enjoy the dishes published here: a link at the bottom of the article to download a cookbook-style, notebook-ready copy of the recipe directly, in .pdf format. (Thank you for a great idea, Gitana!) Beginning with this week’s post, there is no longer a need to request a copy of the recipe via a separate e-mail, or to copy and paste the content of each article manually. With copying and pasting no longer necessary, it’s safe for me to adjust the settings so that it will no longer be possible. (As for the plagiarized material, efforts to have that removed are in progress.)

And now, for your gastronomical pleasure, I am pleased to bring you Half-the-Time Cinnamon Raisin Bread. The recipe combines a one-hour roll dough, raisins rehydrated with pomegranate juice, cinnamon and sugar to create a crusty, delicious treat.

A note about one-hour rolls and the dough used to make them. One-hour rolls are made with dough that has more yeast than regular dough, reducing time required for rising, proofing and baking to about an hour. In this recipe, the baking time is increased since we’re using the dough to make a loaf instead of rolls, but it’s still much less time than would be required for a regular dough.

This recipe makes one loaf.

Place 1-1/2 cups of raisins in a small bowl and add only enough pomegranate juice (usually about 6 ounces) to cover. Let the raisins rehydrate while you prepare the bread dough.

Begin preheating the oven to 200 degrees.

In a small bowl, dissolve two ¼ ounce packages of dry yeast and 3 tablespoons of  sugar in ½ cup of warm (about 110 degrees) water and let stand for 5 minutes. The mixture should become frothy.

Mix 3 cups of all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt together in a large mixing bowl.

Add the yeast mixture, 1 cup of skim milk and 2 tablespoons of melted butter substitute. Mix while adding an additional cup of flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a dough.

When all of the flour is incorporated, knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding up to ½ cup of additional flour only if necessary for a smooth texture.Temporarily remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface. Wipe the bowl out, rub the inside with butter substitute or a flavor-neutral oil,  and place the dough back in to the bowl.

Turn off the oven. Cover the bowl with foil greased with butter substitute or flavor-neutral oil, and place it in the warm oven till doubled in size, about 25 minutes.

While the dough is rising, combine the 1-1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Also, drain the raisins very well and toss them with 2 tablespoons of flour.

Prepare a floured surface. To get an even distribution, it’s helpful to put the flour in a strainer and tap it as if sifting.

After the dough has risen, press it down to deflate it. Turn the dough onto your floured surface, and pat it into a rectangle about 6 inches by 12 inches by 3/4 of an inch thick.

Distribute the cinnamon sugar evenly over the dough. Spread the raisins evenly over the dough and gently press them into it.

Starting at a short side, keep the dough slightly taut while rolling it into a log. After rolling, pinch the seam to seal it. Place the loaf into an oiled 9 by 5 inch loaf pan, and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let proof at room temperature for another 20 minutes.

While the bread is proofing, preheat oven to 425 degrees. (The top of the stove while the oven is preheating is a good place to proof the loaf.)

Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until an inserted knife or toothpick comes out clean

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and place the loaf on a rack to cool. (Let cool completely before slicing, or the bread will fall apart.)

As promised, click here for a copy of the recipe in .pdf format!

I hope you enjoy this tasty, crusty breakfast bread, and that you’ll come back next week for another kitchen-tested, reduced-fat recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)