Tasty Bytes

Had a little slider party yesterday – it was tiny burger rama. (got a nice sun burnt neck too – talk about well done…ouch) Any way, I didn’t want the herbivores to feel left out so made a bunch of tofu burgers – not just a boring plain bland tofu burger but one gussed up with mushrooms and truffle oil. Here is the recipe…

Truffled Tofu Mushroom Burgers

1 pkg of Firm Tofu (I used organic Hinoche brand, House is also nice – use organic to avoid GMO)
1 cup of sauteed mushrooms (any combination of sliced mushrooms, probably about 1 1/2 to 2 cups raw)
1 egg
3 scallions, thinly sliced
3 Tb italian parsley, chopped
1/2 cup grated parmesan (or romano or guryere)
2/3 cup of bread crumbs (home made is easy to make – toast slices of bread and toss into a food processor or blender…I used half a Semifreddi ciabatta roll)
1 tsp tamari or soy sauce
generous pinch of ground black pepper
1 tsp or more to taste herb garlic salt or store bought
1 Tb truffle oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for frying burgers

Remove tofu from package and let sit on a double layer of a clean dish towel to soak up extra moisture.
Meanwhile, chop up mushrooms (I used a food processor :). Prepare the parsley and scallion.
Take the tofu block and smash it up – use a fork or potato masher. Mix this with the mushrooms, then add the remaining ingredients – bread crumbs last. Taste for seasoning – I like the mix to be well seasoned to hold up against the bread.

Let sit for a half hour or so – the mix will firm up (you can make the day before and refrigerate). Form into patties and saute in a medium hot pan with EVOO until browned on both sides.
I used a 2″ biscuit cutter to form the patties (you can use a bigger or smaller ring so the patties fit your buns) – take ring and put on a flat surface. Spoon in enough mix to form a 1/4″-1/3″ thick patty. Use the back of the spoon to press the mix in firmly. Remove the ring carefully. Transfer to the saute pan using a thin metal spatula.

Use your favorite bun or bread with all the fixins (mustard, mayo, relish, tomato, onion, lettuce, pickles, etc…).
Yesterday we used the seeded rolls from Neldam’s Bakery in Oakland – cute 2″ egg rolls with a buttery taste. I’ve made bigger burgers and used Alvarado Baking’s Sprouted Wheat Buns (available at most grocery stores, at least in the SF Bay Area)