Romanesco Veggie Burger with Herby Lemony Radish Slaw

Vegetarian, gluten-free romanesco veggie burger.


It’s spring!

Which means it’s cookbook release season!

And a few of my friends wrote some beautiful ones.

Some of my favorite so far are:

Gena’s Power Plates.

Sonja and Alex’s Pretty Simple Cooking.

Melissa’s The Minimalist Kitchen.

Shelly’s Platters and Boards {something from this soon!}.

Jodi’s More With Less {and this one too!}.

And Nina’s new release, Veggie Burger Atelier: Extraordinary Recipes for Nourishing Plant-Based Patties, Plus Buns, Condiments, and Sweets highlights the beauty of the veggie burger and all its accompaniments. Think how-to burger basics and sauces and accoutrements. All of the things you need for a proper veggie burger feast.

Nina has some of my favorite plant-based recipes and food photography in the game. Her styling is minimal, but colorful and saturated in all the right ways. And Veggie Burger Atelier captures her art of storytelling like a dream. I did a little interview on Nina’s site a few years ago – check it out here if you’d like!

I choose to make the Mars Burger from the Southern Europe chapter of Veggie Burger Atelier.  A hearty romanesco veggie burger laced with parmesan, garlic and mint. And it goes perfectly with some avocado slices, a little aioli and this herby lemony radish slaw on top.

Nina’s recipe uses breadcrumbs, but I used almond flour instead, making it naturally gluten-free, low-carb and paleo. I ate mine on a gluten-free hamburger bun – but you could also eat it as a lettuce or collard green wrap situation.

Have you eaten romanesco before? If you haven’t maybe you’ve spotted this trendy bright green brassica at your farmers’ markets and grocers. It’s known for its distinct and striking fractal appearance.

Romanesco, sometimes referred to Roman cauliflower, is sometimes compared to a mix between cauliflower and broccoli, but it’s much more similar to cauliflower in taste and texture. It’s mild and delicate, and a little bit nutty.

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Romanesco Veggie Burger

Recipe adapted from Nina Olsson's Veggie Burger Atelier.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 4 - 6 burgers

Ingredients

• 400 grams romanesco florets {see notes}
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons fresh mint finely chopped
• 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
• 1 cup almond flour
• buns or greens/wraps
• avocado slices
• mayo or aioli
• Herby Lemony Radish Slaw {see below}

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 
• In a food processor pulse the romanesco, garlic and salt until a crumbly rice-like texture. With your hands, squeeze the excess moisture from the romanesco over the sink {or through a cheese cloth - if you have one}. 
• Transfer the romanesco to a large bowl and add in the pepper, mint, cheese and almond flour. With your hands, mix well and refrigerate for 10 minutes. 
• Divide the mixture into 4 or 6 portions and shape each into a patty. Place the patties on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the burgers from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes. 
• Serve the burgers on a toasted bun or in a wrap with avocado slices, mayo and Herby Lemony Radish Slaw. 

Notes

If you cannot source or find romanesco - cauliflower will work just fine in its place. 

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Herby Lemony Radish Slaw

This slaw can be made ahead of time - keep refrigerated until use.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 minute

Total Time 6 minutes

Servings 2 cups carrot shrub

Ingredients

• 2 cups radishes thinly julienned
•  1/4 cup fresh mint chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• pink Himalayan salt to taste
• black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. 
• Serve on top of the romanesco veggie burgers, or on tacos or eat it as a salad. 

Thanks to the folks at Quarry Books for gifting me an advance copy of Veggie Burger Atelier!