Portobello & Barley Burger

Tue, 18 May 2021

Cornucopia Restaurant Head Chef Tony Keogh's Recipe

Portobello & Barley Burger
(Serves 6)

For the burgers:

200g cooked pearl barley [70g uncooked]

220g portobello mushrooms

½ an onion [finely diced]

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp pesto

2 tbsp miso paste

2 tbsp tamari

2 tbsp ground linseed

2 heaped tbsp yeast flakes

Heaped tbsp Dijon

Tsp Salt / ½ tsp pepper

175g vital wheat gluten [available from health food stores]

To accompany:

6 toasted burger buns or ciabatta

6 Vegan cheese slices

6 heaped tbsp Vegan mayonnaise

Prepared baby leaves or lettuce

12 Dill pickles thinly sliced

1 small red onion thinly sliced and left to marinate in a tbsp lemon juice

6 tbsp Vegan yogurt

6 tbsp Tomato relish shop bought or homemade* [see below]

You will need; food processor, oiled parchment lined tray, metal ring or scone cutter for shaping burgers

Method:
The barley takes about 45 minutes to cook so it is best to cook this in advance or have it cooking while you gather together the other ingredients. Pulse the mushrooms in the food processor until broken up and tip them into a large bowl along with the chopped onion, cooked barley, tomato paste, pesto, miso, tamari, linseed, yeast flakes, mustard and seasoning.

Get in with your hands and mix everything together well, add the vital wheat gluten and bring the mixture together into a dough of sorts, knead it for a minute or so to make sure everything is incorporated. Divide into 6 pieces and using the metal ring, scone cutter or just your hands shape the pieces into patties and place them onto the oiled and lined tray. Brush the top of the patties with a little more oil and place them onto the middle shelf of a preheated oven set to 190 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes.

While they are cooking prepare the accompaniments. At the end of the cooking time remove the tray from the oven and top each burger with a slice of vegan cheese. Return the tray to the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Toast the buns, dress the base with mayo and lettuce top with the burgers, then 2 sliced pickles each and a 1/6th of the marinated red onion. Place a dollop of each yogurt and relish on to the inside lid of the bun and place it on top of the burger

*Homemade tomato relish

500g chopped very ripe vine tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato puree

Heaped tbsp sultanas

1 red onion [finely diced]

100ml white wine vinegar

80g demerara sugar

tsp salt

½ tsp chili

Good pinch of Chinese 5 spice

Tsp Dijon mustard

Add all ingredients to a saucepan except the mustard, bring to a rapid boil, stir well and return to a low simmer. Stir frequently to prevent it catching, after 45 minutes or so when it has reduced, remove it from the heat and stir in the mustard.