The El Burger with Creamy Chipotle Topping is Finally Ready for Prime Time! It's a Sandwich, It's a Salad, No It's My SIL'S Super El Burger

 

The El Burger as a Burger

 

 

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I've been talking about my sister-in-law's El Burger recipe for months now.  It wasn't quite ready for prime time until I could make it myself at least four times--and tweak it a bit.

Let me tell you--I love having a supply of these in the fridge.  No need to freeze them--because they don't last that long.  You'll just gobble them up for dinner & lunch.

They're absolutely delicious on a multi-grain sprouted bun with lettuce, sliced tomato, pickles, maybe a schmear of avocado--and topped with a tablespoon of creamy chiptle dressing.  IMHO!  

As a salad topping---OMG!  Delicious.  Here's what I do.  But, you can come up with your own salad combos.

 

Wash a mess of greens.  Add red & yellow pepper rings, halved cherry tomatoes, chunks of oven-roasted Cajun red-skinned potatoes, TJ's roasted corn, & even some black beans for a protein booster.  

Use the chipotle topping as the salad dressing & prepare yourself for best salad--ever!  IMHO

Tote the dressing in a separate tiny plastic container if you bring this salad to work.  Keep the greens & veggies in a separate container.  Same for the burger & potatoes.  Assemble when you're ready for lunch.  Nothing will get soggy.

 

If this doesn't fill you up--I don't know what would!

Goodness, I certainly hope I'm not "over-selling" this one.  I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone...

 

 

 

The El Burger as a Salad #1

 

The El Burger as a Salad #2

 

My Sister-in-Law:  Creator of the Famous El Burger

 

My SIL is an amazing cook.  Same goes for my sister.  They're both always trying out new recipes & sharing their successes with me.  Thank you, ladies.

But, there's a little back story that goes along with SIL.  She went plant-based over a year ago (August 2011 to be exact) to lower her cholesterol & avoid statins--and then got the side benefit of a painless nice-sized weight loss.   If you missed her story last year, you can read it here.   Don't miss it!   She's going to kill for this, I just know it.   Sorry, favorite SIL. You've inspired many!

 

A Pictorial Guide to the Making of the El Burger 

 

Pulse Processed Garbanzo Beans & Cilantro (Parsley for Cilantro-Haters)

 

Chopped Canned Tomatoes with Green Chilis Draining in the Colander

 

Everything Mixed Up & Ready to Make into Patties & Brown in the Oven

 

Ten El Burgers Nicely Baked & Browned in the Oven - Ready for Buns or Salads

 

Nutritonal Info for the El-Burger Based on Making Nine Burgers from the Recipe

 

My Sister-in-Law's Famous El-Burger Recipe

 

 

 

For a copy of the reicpe on one page, click here.

 

Makes 8-10 burgers

This is a bit of a "pitchkey-patchkey", as my mom would say, but worth the effort.  Prepare for some calorie-burning dish washing after this one.  Perfect time to enjoy the NPR, podcasts or your favorite music.

The recipe makes a lot & these crisp burgers are wonderful crumbled on top of a big salad or stuffed into a bun along with lettuce, tomato, maybe some avocado--and topped with creamy chipotle dressing--recipe follows.  The dressing absolutely turns these into something heavenly.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of canned or fresh chickpeas (garbanzos) rinsed & drained (this is about 1 & 1/3 cans)
• 1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes with green chilis  (drained)  Note:  you can add 3 ounces of chopped green chilis is you can't find them mixed together.  I prefer Muir Glen's Fired-Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilis  (at Whole Foods)
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion  (this can be rough chopped, & cut-up smaller in the food processor--chopped to small dice if you don't have a processor)
• 1 cup grated carrots (I used the food processor to grate 1 huge carrot)
• 1 cup of cilantro or parsley  (will be chopped up in the food processor--hand chop fine if you don't have a processor)
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick or instant) Use a high power blender to turn into flour--or process in your food processor.  Use oat flour in a pinch--haven't tried it myself.
• 1/2 cup spelt flour (can use any, but spelt flour crisps up the burgers)
• 1 tablespoon of Penzey's freeze-dried shallots or fresh---TOTALLY optional (I just have them around)
• 3/4 teaspoon chipotle powder, or to taste
• 3/4 teaspoon Penzey's salt-free Arizona Dreaming seasoning--see ingredients  here to approximate if you don't have this
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, optional

 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees & line a baking sheet with parchment paper--carefully trimming to fit the pan.  This prevents undo browning of the paper

2.  Hand grate or use your food processor grater to grate the equivalent of one cup's worth of carrots.  One giant carrot worked for me.   Place in a big bowl.

3.  Use your food processor or high-speed blender to coarsely or finely grind up the oatmeal.  Add the the bowl with the carrots.  Mix well.

4.  Pulse process (with your food processor) the garbanzo/chickpeas along with parsley/cilantro & onion. If you don't have a processor--chop up well.

5.  Add the drained chopped tomatoes with chilis to the processor & all the spices (chipotle powder, Arizona Dreaming, cayenne, & salt) & pulse process to combine well with garbanzo/onion/cilantro or parsely mixture.  You still want this in small pieces--not mush.

6.  Add the garbanzo/chickpea tomato, onion, parsley/cilantro mixture to the big bowl.

7.  Add the spelt flour & mix everything up well.

8.  Form into 8-10 patties, placing them on the parchment covered baking sheet.

9.  Bake for 15 minutes, flip the burgers, & continue baking for 15 more minutes.

10.  The 30 minute of total baking time produced a crisp brown burger--but, check on them, & cook only to your desired "doneness".  You may like a moister, softer burger than I do.  And ovens vary.

 

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

 

The Healthy Librarian's "Knock Your Socks Off" Creamy Chipotle Topping - Two Ways - Creamy Cashew or Creamy "Nut-Free" Chia

 

To get to the post where this one originates, click here.

We set up a fabulous taco bar one night during our family beach vacation in July.

Son #1 put me in charge of whipping up a creamy chipotle dressing.  I followed his directions & used his made-up-in-his-head-off-the-cuff recipe.  He makes this a lot in his own home.

Trust me, this topping can make a mediocre dish into a spectacular one.

Use it as a topping for tacos, enchiladas, burgers, or salads.

I brought it into work for a taste test, & everyone went wild over it.  More like, swooned.  Wanted the recipe.  It's so yummy.

Here's Son #1's very simple recipe:

 

Creamy Chipotle Cashew Topping

Serves 8 - 2 tablespoon servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of raw cashews soaked in 1/2 cup of water for at least an hour.  Longer is fine.
• 3-4 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice  (lemon juice works just fine, too!)
• 2 coarsely chopped garlic cloves, less to taste
• 1/2 (preferred) to 1 SINGLE chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.  Sizes vary on these peppers, so go slowly--you can always add more  (these come in about 8-10 in a can)
• a few grains of coarse sea salt to taste

Preparation:

1.  Soak the raw cashews for at least one hour in 1/2 cup of water

2.  Into a power blender (VitaMix works best) add the cashews AND the soaking water, the garlic, the lime or lemon juice, & the chipotle.

3.  Blend well until the cashews are a creamy, silky consistency.  Check for taste.  Add more chipotle, if needed.

4.  Add a few grains of salt to taste.

 

Creamy Chipotle Chia (no-nut) Topping

 

OK.  I know a lot of you don't eat nuts, especially not cashews.

I figured I could come up with a close substitute for the cashew dressing with soymilk & chia.

It's quite good, and very close to the taste of the cashew topping.  But, I've got to be honest.

If I had to pick, the cashew dressing would take the gold medal in this contest.

BTW, the secret ingredient to the chia topping is a teaspoon of agave.  Turns out, cashews have a natural sweetness that is missing in the chia version.  Agave came to the rescue.

 

Serves 8 - 2 tablespoon servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of Eden Extra Plain Soymilk (richer than other non-dairy milks)
• 3  tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice (lemon juice works just fine, too!)
• 2 coarsely chopped garlic cloves, less to taste
• 1/2 (preferred) to 1 SINGLE chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.  Sizes vary on these peppers, so go slowly--you can always add more  (these come in about 8-10 in a can)
• 3 tablespoons of white chia (I like the Salba brand)
• 1 teaspoon of agave (more to taste, if needed)
• a few grains of coarse sea salt

Preparation:

1.  Add all the ingredients into a power blender (I use a VitaMix), adding the chia seed just before you're ready to turn the blender on.

2.  Blend well, until the consistency is smooth & silky.

3.  Taste, & add extra chipotle, salt, or agave to your own taste.

Comments

[Joan]

This recipe looks fabelous! Thank you so much. I started the Esselstyne diet in September 2012 and your web site has been such an inspiration for me. Was wondering if the Creamy Chipotle Cashew Topping could be made with walnuts or would the dressing be less creamy? Just wondering as the Creamy Chipotle Chia topping looks great too. I will be making this soon.

Thanks so much for all your great recipes.

Joan

[Ellen (Gluten Free Diva)]

Pitchkey Potchky indeed, but it looks SOOOO good! I can't wait to try it! I will, of course, make sure all the ingredients are gluten free:).

[Elena]

I made this yesterday- a food processor makes it easy. It was delicious - even my 80 year old father liked it! Also, I've been reading about "cashew cream" for about a year in various cookbooks and recipe posts. Made it for the first time in the blender. Definitely worth the effort and just as good without the chipotle, for those who don't like so much heat.
I did not have tomatoes with chilis, so I just added a few teaspoons of "Happy Hal's Jalapeño Relish". This is a great product that is all natural and meets all the Esselstyne-diet requirements. Available at some Whole Foods and online.

Elena

[Carol]

Thanks for the recipe - I've been looking forward to it. I tried them yesterday, and was happy to find that they hold together and are actually a little crispy, unlike my earlier experiments. Taste good too. I wondered if I had done something wrong (like not drain the tomatoes enough?) when I was forming the patties, as they were fairly mushy at that point. Are they supposed to be a little dry when you're shaping them? It's going to be so useful to have a batch of these in the freezer! (And what does the El stand for? The mystery is playing with my brain.....) Thanks again for a very useful item in the arsenal.

[Healthy Librarian]

@Carol--mine weren't at all mushy when forming them--& I'm wondering if you used 2 cups of garbanzos beans, drained of course! If you used only 1 can of garbanzos--it's not enough--& they will be mushy. The Lab Rat made that mistake! If 2 cups still wasn't enough to prevent mushiness--use 2 1/4 cups of beans. Definitely drain the tomatoes--but I didn't squeeze them or anything.

Re the "El"--it's my little secret!

@Ellen: You can totally make this gluten-free by using something other than spelt flour--but, you're the gluten-free maven & diva!

@Elena: Thank you so much for sharing your results--loved hearing that your 80 year old dad liked the burgers! I completely agree about the cashew cream as a template for other toppings & spreads. Don't need the chipotle--& can add any mixture of herbs or spices.

@Joan: I haven't tried this with walnuts, but, I have made a very delicious creamy balsamic salad dressing using walnuts for the creaminess. Cashews are just so mild tasting-& faintly sweet. Walnut skins have a slight bitterness to them--but, that's part of their health benefit.

[Stephen Albers]

Your Eli Burger got good reviews not only from consumers in my household, but from the cook too, (me).

I immediately recognized a potential substitution for the shredded carrots on the ingredients list. I use my Green Juicer vegetable pulp (one for one) which is a great use for the pulp juicer fanatics would normally throw out. I just hate to think of all the pulp fiber and nutrition I am flushing down the drain when juicing. Now I have a use for it!

An additional comment would be helpful in how to best reconstitute the burgers from the freezer for best flavor and mouth feel.

Stephen

[Lisa]

I'm looking forward to making these but I have two questions - For the creamy chipotle dressing, I can't do nuts and I don't have a vitamix to grind the chia seeds so I was planning on using your recipe for Creamy chipotle ranch dressing, would that be a good substitute? Second - how do you make the roasted cajun potatoes?
Thanks so much!

[Sadie Dodson]

Thanks for the recipes. I made the tomato and avocado salad you recommended from Food Network. I tossed that salad with lettuce, mixed greens and cilantro then drizzled the whole thing with this chipotle sauce. It was fantastic. I took it to a dinner party so I was sure my husband and I would have something plant based to eat. Everyone raved about it. I love when omnivores fall in love with plant-based dishes! Thanks

[J. in Michigan]

Thank you so much for this recipe. I have tried many many veggie burger recipes and I am often the only one in a family of 7 who will eat them. But the ratio of family members who will eat these is more than those who won't! These were nicely crisp, without being dry or crumbly. To make these gluten free, I successfully used ground Perky's brown rice cereal for the ground oatmeal and I have tried both chickpea flour and sorghum flour for the spelt. It still resulted in a crisp burger. Thanks for yet another great recipe. I am so excited to find something I really like to eat again!

[Penny]

Recipe Trials: El Burger--Excellent; Squash Onion Tacos--Very Good; Cajun Kale Soup--Excellent; Pumpkin Pie Squares--Just okay.
2 Families coming for Veggie Thanksgiving on Sunday. Will try: Mac and Cheese; Veggie Loaf, plus other fixings.
Then to try: Mama Pea's Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai, Belgian Style Seitan Stew; Satay Sandwiches.
Do you still use Upton's?
Thanks and keep them coming.

[Healthy Librarian]

@Lisa: You DON'T need to grind the chia seeds for the chipotle topping! Totally unnecessary--I just use the Vitamix to blend up all the ingredients. You could do it with an everyday blender. If, however you want to ever grind the chia seeds (but unnecessary)--you can now buy them ground--or do it in an inexpensive coffee grinder.

@Sadie Dodson: That wasn't me who recommended the Food Network avocado & tomato salad--but, I'd love to see it, all the same. I love the chipotle dressing on any kind of salad.

@J. in Michigan: So glad you figured out an acceptable gluten-free version. Also, pleased to see more of your family liked these burgers--than ones you've tried in the past.

@Penney: Yay, for the El Burger!! Glad you liked "most" everything else. What did you find lacking in the Pumpkin Pie squares? Not sweet enough? Did you try them with or without walnuts & raisins (or even maybe some chocolate chips?) One reader added a couple more dates & a little stevia to hers to get them sweet enough. Hope you like the Mac n' Cheese, if you're making the one I made. You might want to add a little dry mustard to the mix--or even some Penzey's !Forward no-salt seasoning to "salt" it up a bit. I do still use Upton's--but, not that often--mostly for the Chorizo in Mexican Lasagna or some of my soups, or for pizzas which I haven't made for a while. So many recipes to try--I kind of lose track. Would love to hear of your faves.

[Lisa]

Thank you so much for the reply about not needing to grind the chia seeds and just using a regular blender. I look forward to trying the recipe this week! One final question - how do you make the cajun roasted potatoes or where can I find the recipe you use?

[Christine]

I just finally tried this recipe. Mine looked a lot more moist than the picture. I cooked for 45 minutes at 450 and they were still moist in the middle. I used the measured amounts as noted. The only difference was I had to use instant oatmeal and I blended the oatmeal into almost a flour. I have a Vitamix and no food processor. Not sure if the oatmeal woud make that much of a difference?