Jamie's mega tofu veggie burgers

Tofu is a brilliant carrier of flavours, plus it’s high in protein and low in saturated fat. Here Jamie Oliver stacks tasty tofu patties with a chunky tomato sauce, cheese and pickles, and serves a side salad with creamy basil dressing.

Jamie's mega veggie burgers. Credit: Jamie Oliver Enterprises

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 350 g firm silken tofu
• 1 large free-range egg
• 75 g wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 2 heaped tsp Marmite
• 8 ripe tomatoes
• 3 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 sprigs fresh basil
• 4 soft wholemeal buns
• 400 g mixed seasonal salad veg, such as cucumber, red cabbage, apples, cress, baby spinach
• Olive oil
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 50 g Cheddar cheese
• 50 g gherkins

Creamy basil dressing

• 4 sprigs fresh basil
• ¼ cup natural yoghurt
• 3 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ fresh red chilli

Instructions

1. Wrap the tofu in a clean tea towel, then squeeze and wring it out to remove the excess liquid (about 3 tablespoons should come out – it’s messy, but really important to do this for great burger texture later).
2. Place the tofu in a bowl, scraping it off the tea towel. Crack in the egg, then add the breadcrumbs and Marmite. Mix and scrunch together really well with clean hands, then shape into 4 even-sized patties that’ll fit nicely in your buns once cooked.
3. Roughly chop the tomatoes and put into a dry non-stick frying pan on a high heat with a pinch of black pepper, a splash of water and the vinegar. Squash the tomatoes with a potato masher, cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until thick and delicious, then tear in the basil leaves and season to perfection (I sometimes add a pinch of dried red chilli flakes too, for a kick). If you want to plump up your buns, pop them into a warm oven for a few minutes.
4. Meanwhile, finely slice or prep all the salad veg. Next, pick the basil leaves into a blender and blitz with all the other dressing ingredients and a pinch of salt and pepper until super-smooth.
5. Place 2 teaspoons of oil in a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Pick the rosemary leaves into the pan in four piles, place the patties on top and cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until golden. Slice or grate the cheese, place on the patties, reduce the heat to low, then cover and leave to melt for 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Spread the tomato sauce into the buns, then sandwich the cheesy burgers and sliced gherkins inside. Toss the salad with half the dressing (save the rest for another day), serve alongside the burgers and enjoy – totally awesome.

Recipe from Everyday Super Food by Jamie Oliver (Penguin Random House). ⓒ Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.