Veggie Burger Roast

March 21, 2016

Veggie Burger Roast

Veggie Burger Roast is a delicious combination of veggie burger, onions, mushrooms and bread cubes baked in a savoury egg custard mixture. Perfect for dinner with mashed potatoes and vegetables but left-overs are fabulous in sandwiches as well.

Remember the corn flake advertisement that said "Taste them again for the very first time"? Well, that's how I feel about Worthington Vegetarian Burger--the veggie burger that comes in a can. I haven't had it in years but just last week I bought a can and, wow, it really tastes so good, not like I remembered it did. I couldn't stop tasting the burger as it fried with the onions and mushrooms.

Veggie Burger Roast is now my new favourite vegetarian "meat". I made this on Friday and took it to church for potluck on Sabbath and there wasn't any left--not even enough to scrape together to lick out the dish. Sunday I bought another can of the Vegetarian Burger and made half a recipe for Don and me. We'll have three meals from it. Sunday we had it with mashed potatoes, gravy and vegetables. Today we had it cold with beet and mustard salads and tonight or tomorrow we'll have the last two pieces in a sandwich or warmed with more potatoes.

I didn't put any cheese in my roast because on Sabbath I served it with a very cheesy pasta dish and figured that was enough cheese, even for a potluck. Sunday, I again made it without cheese because I wanted to get a good taste of the roast without the cheese. (I didn't get a good taste on Sabbath because I only had a small piece.) I didn't use the green or red pepper because I didn't have any and didn't want to go to the grocery store. They are optional but would make a tasty addition to the roast.

Printable recipe at end of post.

Veggie Burger Roast

1 large onion, diced, about 1 cup
2 cups diced fresh mushrooms or 1 can, drained and chopped
½ cup diced green or red pepper, optional
1 tablespoon oil
1 20-ounce/567 gram can Worthington Vegetarian Burger or your favourite veggie burger
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon each dry basil, oregano & savoury
4-6 slices two day old whole wheat bread, buttered on both sides and cut into cubes
4 eggs
2 cups milk
½ teaspoon steak spice or seasoned salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese, optional

How to make it:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or pan spray a 9x13-inch baking dish.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, sauté the onion, mushrooms and pepper, if using, in the tablespoon of oil. When the vegetables are soft, add the vegetarian burger. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Break up the burger with a fork and heat through, lightly browning. You will need to stir the mixture to keep it from sticking or burning. Remove from heat and place the burger mixture in a large bowl.

Clean frying pan and add the buttered and cubed bread. The recipe calls for 4-6 slices of bread. Judge how many slices you will need to fill the bottom of a large frying pan. My slices were small so I used 6 slices. Fry the bread over medium heat until lightly toasted. Sprinkle with the dry herbs while the bread is frying. You could also bake them in the oven, if you prefer. Add the toasted bread cubes to the burger mixture and mix together. If you are using the cheese you can add it now or wait to sprinkle on top of the roast.

Place the burger and bread mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spread the mixture but do not pack down firmly. Beat the eggs, milk and steak spice together and pour over the burger. You may sprinkle with cheese, if using or if you have not mixed it in the burger. Let stand at least 30 minutes to let the bread soak up the liquid.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until the middle has cooked and is no longer liquid.

Serve hot with gravy and mashed potatoes or anything you like. Makes 12-15 servings.

Sauté the onion, mushrooms and pepper, if using, in the tablespoon of oil. When the vegetables are soft, add the vegetarian burger. Lightly brown the burger while breaking it up with a fork.

Butter 4-6 slices whole wheat bread on both sides. Use a nice homemade style bread that is a little stale. Cut the bread in cubes.

Brown the bread cubes in the cleaned out frying pan. You can also bake them in the oven, if you wish. Sprinkle the herbs over the bread while they are frying.