Cheese Burger

“This epic burger is stuffed with vegan cheese. Some vegan cheese doesn’t melt but if you put it INSIDE the burgers it does.”

Prep time - 30 minutes

Cook time - 30 minutes

Difficulty - Difficult

Serves/makes - 4 burgers

A splash of oil

2 large onions, roughly chopped

4 garlic, roughly chopped

250g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon yeast extract (marmite, vegemite)

2 tablespoons stock powder, I use Marigold

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup gluten free porridge oats

1 cup gram flour

2 tablespoons liquid smoke (optional)

3 vegan cheese slices

Frying pan

Hand blender

Baking paper

Cookie cutter or cup

Preheat your oven to 180c/360f/gas mark 4.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the onions for 5 minutes.
Add splashes of water if the pan dries out.
Add the garlic and mushrooms, cook for 5-10 minutes on a medium to high heat until the mushrooms are soft.
Put the veggies into a high sided bowl. Blend with a hand blender.
Add the yeast extract, stock and salt to the bowl, mix well.
Add the oats and flour, mix well, rest for 5-10 minutes, this will let it thicken and cool down a bit before you mould it into patties.
Use a cookie cutter to cut the cheese slices into rounds. Use a cookie cutter that is slightly smaller than the one you will use for the burger patties. Cut out 3 circles of vegan cheese slices.
Lay out 2 sheets of baking paper, put the pattie mixture between the sheets and use a rolling pin to flatten. Now cut out the rounds. If you are stuffing them with cheese - take one in your hand, place a circle of cheese on it and add another pattie on top, press down. Do this with the rest of the mixture, I could make 3 large patties and around 6 small patties.
Heat a little oil in a pan, fry the patties on each side, on a high heat until browned. Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes till they have firmed up. This gets rid of the gram flour taste which can be quite prominent if it isn't cooked out. They will also now be robust enough to go on the BBQ or to be frozen once cool.