Baked Spinach Kofta with Cucumber-Soy Yogurt Sauce

Baked Spinach Kofta
Makes 4 servings.
2 medium red potatoes, about 12 ounces
6 ounces fresh spinach
2 ounces tofu
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast flakes
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
3 tablespoons chickpea flour (besan)

Peel the potatoes, dice them into 1/2-inch pieces, place them in a saucepan, and cover them with water. Boil until the potatoes are tender and then drain them well and mash. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and blanch for one minute, or just until wilted. Drain well in a colander. Put the spinach along with the tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt into a food processor and process until crumbly. Set aside.

Spray a large skillet with canola oil and bring it to medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and toast for one minute. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger and sauté until the onions are soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garam masala, stir, and immediately add the potatoes and the spinach mixture. Cook, stirring, for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and spoon into a large bowl.

Add the chickpea flour and stir well. Allow to cool until easy to handle. Shape into about 20 balls, approximately 1-inch in diameter. (Don't worry about getting them perfect; they will naturally flatten out some during baking.) Place on an oiled cookie sheet or a silicone baking mat:

Preheat oven to 450F. Bake for 10 minutes and then turn the kofta. Bake for 10 more minutes and turn again. Bake for 10 more minutes or until all sides are lightly browned.

Serve with Cucumber-Soy Yogurt sauce (below), garnished with tomatoes, red onion, and hot chile peppers. This makes a delicious stuffing for whole wheat pita bread or chapatis.

Cucumber-Soy Yogurt Sauce

1 small or 1/2 large cucumber
1 cup plain soy yogurt
1/4 cup diced red onion
1-2 tablespoons minced mint leaves
1-3 tablespoons lime juice (use more if you are using store-bought soy yogurt because it tends to be sweetened)
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Peel and finely dice the cucumber. Place the pieces in a colander and allow the liquid to drain while you mix the other ingredients in a bowl.

Before adding the cucumber, blot it lightly with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Add it to the yogurt mixture and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour to allow the flavors to blend.

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

Makes 8 burgers.

Ingredients

12oz Can Black Beans (or 1 1/2 cups fresh, cooked)
1 Potato, chopped, boiled ( can substitute for squash)
1/2 Onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2tbsp Chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
1tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1 Jalapeno
1/2 cup Vital Wheat Gluten


Directions
Cook beans and potato as described. Mash up and mix the beans and potato. Add the rest of the ingredients and mash together. Add the Vital Wheat Gluten and mix with hands for a minute or two.

When you are ready to make the burgers, pour some vegetable oil onto a cookie sheet (or use cooking spray), put in the oven and set it to preheat to 400 degrees. When the oven is heated, put the patties on the hot baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.

Black Bean Burgers

(from Veganomicon)

* 1 can black beans, drained (or 2 C black beans from scratch)
* 1 t chile powder
* 1 t cumin
* 1/2 red onion grated (big holes on the box grater)
* 1 T tomato paste
* 1/4 C finely chopped cilantro
* 1/2 C vital wheat gluten
* 1/4 C water

1. Smash the beans in a bowl until you have mostly smashed beans and a few half beans (no whole beans). I just use a fork for this.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir with a fork, eventually kneading the mixture with your hands for about a minute until uniformly mixed.
3. Form the dough into 6 patties, firmly pressing together to make the patties about 1 1/2 inches thick.
4. Heat about 2 t olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Cook 3 patties at a time, pressing firmly on the patty with a spatula periodically as it cooks. Spray the tops with olive oil and flip over after about 5 minutes. Cook 5 minutes more on the other side, also pressing.
5. Serve with buns and any condiments or toppings you like.

Veggie Bean Burger with Avocado Cream

Veggie Bean Burger
(makes 4 burgers)
2 cups cooked beans (black beans, aduki, pinto, kidey, chickpeas)
1 cup steamed squash
1 carrot
1/2 onion, finely sliced
1 small shallot
1/2 cup miso liquid or stock to moisten patties
1 T fresh herbs or powdered (sage, corainder, parsely, thyme, dill, basil, ginger, fennel, cumin, mint, garlic)
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
sunflower seed if desired

Mash up beans. Mix in the other ingredients and make patties. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 oF until brown. Serve with avocado cream.

Avocado cream sauce
2 very soft avocado
2 spring onions, chopped finely
1/4 t coriander powder
1/4 t seaweed seasoning (or salt)
1/2 t olive oil
3-4 T water

Place water at the bottom of a blender. Add avocado, spring onion, coriander, seasoning, olive oil and mix until creamy.

Baked Chickpea Patties

Makes 2 servings

On their own or tucked into a pita, chickpeas make a delicious vegetarian meal.

Ingredients

2 tsp (10 mL) canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Half jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano
1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried basil
1 can (19 oz/540 mL) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 egg white
2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped fresh Italian parsley

Directions

In nonstick skillet heat oil over medium heat and cook onion, garlic, jalapeño, oregano and basil for about 5 minutes or until softened. Meanwhile, in bowl mash chickpeas using potato masher until smooth. Scrape onion mixture into bowl and stir to combine. Add egg white and parsley and stir until well combined and smooth. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions and form into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick patties. Place patties on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in 425° F (220° C) oven for about 20 minutes, turning once halfway through or until golden. Lemon Herb Yogurt Sauce: Meanwhile, in bowl, stir together yogurt, parsley, mint, garlic, lemon rind and salt. Serve with chickpea patties.

Tofu Burgers

16 oz x-tra firm tofu, squeezed to reduce liquid as much as possible.
1 cup cooked black beans (I used leftovers from the fridge.)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon SALT FREE seasoning
3 big chard leaves (use thick veins, steam quickly, chop finely and squeeze to get out liquid)
1 tablespoon ground flax-meal
1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons coarse prepared mustard
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
season to taste with pepper-mill and salt

In a bowl, mix everything together. Pat about 1/4 cup packed tofu stuff firmly into burger shapes and place on an oiled cookie sheet and sprinkle with paprika. Mine fetched eleven burgers.

Ortega Burgers

from justfood.blogspot.com
(makes 4 patties)
Ingredients:
1 cup of TVP granules
7/8 cup water
1 packet of Taco Seasoning or homemade taco seasoning
1/2 cup Wheat Gluten Flour
1/2 cup Salsa of Choice
1 tbsp Hot sauce (like Tapatio)

Reconstitute TVP by placing it in a microwave safe bowl, pouring water over it, covering it TIGHTLY with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5-6 minutes. Mix in taco seasoning, then mix in the flour, salsa and hot sauce. Let sit for about 20 minutes. (You may refrigerate it for later at this point if you want to.) Divide mixture into 4 equal parts. Form burger patties. Prepare as desired. They can be baked at 350 for about 15 minutes or until just crisp on the outsides, fried (in oil or non-stick spray) or grilled. If grilling, us a foil liner so they don't fall apart. Garnish with onions, jalapeno, sour cream, salsa and avocado. YUM!