Recipe #62 - Homemade Veggie Burgers

We've been enjoying prepackaged veggie burgers for years, but recently tried coming up with our own version. We'll continue tweaking it but this recipe turned out to be moist and flavorful.

Makes about six burgers.

1 large portobello mushroom, stemmed, wiped clean and coarsely chopped
1 cup canned black beans, drained and thoroughly rinsed
1/3 cup canned diced green chiles
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg

1 cup cooked brown rice
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 small zucchini, shredded
1 small carrot, shredded
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1/2 cup cooked brown rice

2 Tbsp. canola oil

Put chopped mushroom in a food processor and pulse into fine pieces.. Add the beans, chiles, Worcestershire, chili powder, salt, breadcrumbs and egg, and process until well combined.

Stir in the brown rice, corn, zucchini, carrot and onion. Form six burger patties. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add canola oil. Place the burger patties into the pan and grill for about five minutes per side until crispy and heated through.

Serve the veggie burgers on whole wheat buns with sliced tomatoes, sliced avocado, lettuce and a lemon-garlic aioli.

Recipe #61 - Avgolemono Soup

This is by no means an original recipe. After all, the Greeks have been making variations of this soup for centuries. But this is our version of a classic.

Previously, we published a recipe for avgolemono pasta with veggies. But this is a more traditional avgolemono as a soup, with the base of eggs, lemon and rice.

Try it with a greek salad (easy to make with kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, artichoke hearts, greens, feta cheese and a lemon-feta-olive oil dressing) and some warm ciabatta bread.

1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
4 egg yolks
6 cups rich vegetable stock
1/2 cup long grain white rice
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup frish lemon juice
Zest of 1 fresh lemon
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Stir the milk and cornstarch together. Whisk in the egg yolks until well beaten and mixed with the milk-cornstarch.

Put the veggie stock in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the rice and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes.

Using a soup ladle, put 1/2 cup of hot broth into the egg-milk mixture, whisking the entire time. Add a few more ladles of broth, continually whisking.

Pour the egg-milk mixture into the broth pot very slowly, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low simmer and add the butter, parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Warm over very low heat.

Serve with salad and bread. A good wine match would be a soft chilled rose or pinot grigio.

Recipe #60 - Jazzed-Up Hash Browns

Potatoes can be boring. But they don't have to be. Try this with poached eggs and toasted slices of ciabatta bread.

Makes four servings.

2 Yukon Gold potatoes, shredded and thoroughly rinsed and squeezed dry
1 large shallot, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeds and pith removed, finely chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and shredded
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. canola oil
Essence and lemon salt as desired (recipes follow)

Mix together veggie ingredients in a large bowl. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet until hot, then add veggies. Stir to distribute butter and oil somewhat.

Cover pan and allow to cook for about five minutes. Check the bottom side with a spatula to see if there's any burning. When it seems well browned on the bottom, flip the spuds to the other side. (You may need to do this in sections; it's OK for this process to get messy, as it doesn't need to be perfect.)

Continue cooking with the cover on for several more minutes. After both sides seem well browned, check the interior of the spud mixture to make sure everything is cooked through. Flip around in sections to get things as browned and crispy as you like.

Sprinkle with essence and lemon salt and serve hot.

ESSENCE:

Full disclosure: We lifted the recipe for Essence from the legendary Emeril Lagasse of Food Network fame. We wanted to have some of this stuff around all the time, but decided to alter the recipe to cut back on the salt content. So this recipe is identical to Emeril's with the exception of half the salt.

2.5 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. dried crushed oregano
1 Tbsp. dried crushed thyme

Put all ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. Keep this condiment in your pantry for use any time.

LEMON SALT:

1 cup sea salt
Zest of 2 fresh lemons

Put salt and lemon zest in a jar and shake well. Keep tightly sealed. It will keep indefinitely.

Recipe #59 - Lobster Mashed Potatoes

Adding lobster to just about anything gives it a lift in a decadent direction.

Makes four servings.

1/4 lb. lobster meat, diced
6 Tbsp. seafood oil (simmer lobster, crab and/or shrimp shells in grapeseed oil and strain)
1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup whipping cream
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Salt & pepper to taste

Put the spuds in boiling salted water and cook until soft and cooked through. Press through a potato ricer for smooth, or mash with a masher for slightly lumpy.

Add the cream and 4 Tbsp. of the butter, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the rest of the butter in a saute pan and cook the diced lobster just until cooked and heated through. Fold the lobster and half the seafood oil into the mashed potatoes.

Put the finished mashers on plates along with whatever other components of the meal you're serving. Drizzle the remaining seafood oil around the plate just prior to serving.