Couscous burger?

[wings_humming]

I have some coucous in the cupboard and I've been really craving burgers/patties lately. Does anyone have any good recipes? I thought I might just throw together some couscous, chickpeas and various veges with breadcrumbs, but I'm a bit worried about what will help bind the burger. Any recipes or suggestions would be great, thanks! :D

Comments

[teaandbourbons]

I made some a while ago and used a bit of houmous to bind it. Came out nice!

[86nikki]

mmm, that sounds delish!!

[wings_humming]

Ooh yummy, thank you. What else did you put in your burger?

[teaandbourbons]

just veg i had that needed using up... think there was kidney beans, grated carrot, onion, garlic, sweetcorn and then the cous cous and bread crumbs.

the sweet potato idea is great too. i love making burgers with sweet potato mash, haven't tried it with couscous but it sounds like it'd work fine.

[revolutionnow05]

you could use a bit of wheat gluten, tomato paste or flax water as a binder. Depending on how much you are making a tablespoon or two should do the trick.

[pearllessoyster]

seconded - just don't over-knead it once you get the gluten in!

[wings_humming]

Cool, thank you. Is wheat gluten something I can easily get from the supermarket? I've never really heard of it before - is it mostly used for binding?

[revolutionnow05]

you should be able to find it in the baking isle - vital wheat gluten. Seitan (wheat meat) is made out of wheat gluten. It is the binding source in wheat (which is why you dont want to ever knead your bread too long or you will produce too much gluten) by itself its a protein source and its elastic qualities make it an excellent binder.

[orphe_]

include a good dose of garlic and your favorite herbs and spices.

[wings_humming]

Ooh yes, definitely. I worship cumin and basil. What are your faves for burgers?

[orphe_]

wellll, if you're going for a burger burger, i'm not sure this would work, but one of my favorite spice blends is zattar. it's delicious and would work really well if you're just making some sort of a patty with olive oil and something to bind, but i dunno about putting it on a roll with ketchup and mustard.

[wings_humming]

LOL, cumin and basil don't work for alot of things unfortunately, but I still love them. :) Hmm, zattar and olive oil sounds good. Thanks! :D

[_lifted_]

if you're into sweet potato, that's a really good binder for burgers!
just mash, mix. so good.
i suppose regular potato would work the same...but it's not as tasty.

[wings_humming]

Oh gosh, I adore and worship sweet potato! I never even thought of them! I will definitely try it. :D

[addiocielo]

Just a question... a lot of burger (bean burger, etc) recipies I come across call for one egg... would the suggestion of hummus work just the same in a bean burger? Not to syphon your thread...

[wings_humming]

Yes, that's the issue I guess. When I remember my mum making burgers as a child, she always used an egg to bind them. Hummus was suggested above, and seems like a fairly good alternative, but I'm not sure if it would work for all types of burgers. Maybe give it a try? When I google 'vegan burgers' or the like, they suggest tomato sauce/paste as well. I guess it's just trial and error... :)

[addiocielo]

yeah. A friend recommended corn starch so I was probably going to try that first, but thanks for the extra suggestions, that's what I was looking for!