Better Veggie Burgers: Butter-Roasted Cauliflower Burger
There's never been a better time to get great at making veggie burgers. Whether you've been vegetarian for years, cooking for a diverse crowd or or simply flexing your flexitarian muscle, Green Burgers is a book you'll want in your culinary library year-round. There are so many nutrient-dense combinations, you won't know where to start. Might we recommend this butter-roasted cauliflower burger?
Better Veggie Burgers: Butter-Roasted Cauliflower Burger
Prep Time
20
minutes
Cook Time
1.17
hours
Servings
6
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 small cauliflower heads (the diameter must correspond to the size of the bun)
- 2/3 cup butter at room temperature
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Shaved peel of 1/2 lemon
- Scant 1/2 cup olive oil
- 7 ounces creamy Norwegian goat's cheese (preferably truffle-flavored) or feta
- Generous 3/4 cup creme fraiche
- sea salt
- 6 burger buns
- Butter for the buns
- 1 tablespoon coarsely crushed pink peppercorns
- watercress
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- For the lemon oil, heat the lemon peel and olive oil in a small saucepan. Remove the saucepan from the hob when it starts to simmer and leave for about 10 minutes so the oil takes on the flavor of the lemon, then remove the lemon peel and put the oil to one side.
- Trim the heads of cauliflower and rub in plenty of butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer them to an ovenproof dish and bake for 10 minutes in the middle of the oven. Then reduce the heat to 300ºF and bake for a further 30–40 minutes, until the cauliflower has taken on a golden color and starts to soften. The florets should give if you press them gently, but they must not go too soft, otherwise the cauliflower won’t hold together when you cut it up.
- Put the goat’s cheese into a bowl and mash it with a fork. Add the crème fraîche and stir to make a smooth cream. Add salt to taste.
- Butter the buns on the cut surface and fry them quickly in a frying pan (skillet) or grill (broil) them in the oven.
- Cut the cauliflower into 1/2 inch thick slices and place two slices on each bun. Spread on a little of the goat’s cheese cream, sprinkle over some crushed pink pepper and add a little watercress. Drizzle lemon oil over it and finish by topping with a little lemon zest.