Eggplant Burgers - The Veggie Table

A delicious veggie burger made from eggplant and walnuts.
Yield	4-6 burgers
Time	1 hour
Tools	large frying pan wooden spoon large bowl food processor cookie sheet aluminum foil
Ingredients	3 T olive oil, divided 1 medium onion, diced 1 medium eggplant, diced ½ c firm tofu, crumbled or 2 flax eggs 1½ c walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped 2 c dry breadcrumbs ½ c nutritional yeast ½ c basil, chopped ¼ c fresh parsley or 1 T dried parsley 1 T dried oregano 3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed zest of 1 lemon 1 t salt pepper
Directions	Heat 2 T oil over medium heat and sauté onion about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add eggplant and a dash salt and sauté 8-10 minutes, until soft, adding more oil if needed to keep eggplant from drying out. Preheat oven to 375. Combine tofu or flax eggs, eggplant mixture, and nuts. Place one cup of this mixture in food processor and purée, then return to bowl. Add remaining ingredients except the last T oil and mix well. Oil the cookie sheet and your palms. Take about half a cup of the eggplant mixture and shape into a patty. Place on cookie sheet and repeat with remaining mixture. Spray or lightly drizzle the burgers with oil, then bake until golden brown and crusty, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with foil, and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Or you can fry them in a bit of vegetable oil until golden on each side.
Notes	You can also use this recipe to make delicious eggplant meatballs. Adapted from the recipe for eggplant meatballs in Totally Vegetarian, by Toni Fiore – read my review. Buy it: Amazon.com \| Amazon.co.uk
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