STILL NEW YORK-HUNGRY

3. A VERY Special Cauliflower Burger & EXTRA (Hi-Carb)

Actually, I wanted to do a pumpkin dish I haven't done before – yeah, there's one more, and such an obvious one, too – but Cauliflower stopped me. So blame IT!

What? I hear you ask. Didn't you say you hated cauliflower because of traumatic memories, and only did one recipe featuring it, "3. Cauliflower Soup" , so far?

Yeah, and honestly it should stay like that. The "Großmama forced me to eat it in gallons"-demon seemed to have been exorcised.

Hm, nope.

So I was grocery shopping and in the corner shop to get some things I'd forgotten to put on the shopping list. They have a section with local and organic produce, and I always go there to buy extra vegs and fruits and nuts as, let's admit it, they're healthy. Duh!

So I was there to get the pumpkin – in the supermarket they were out – but also...

At first I thought the lonely violet bunch withering in the veg box was red cabbage – which I like, too – but then I saw the blossom-like structures which made me think it was violet broccoli, which I love. Uh, the broccoli, not it being of any color.

Yeah, I'm that creepy kid who always loved eating their spinach and broccoli – and still does.

But I digress, sorry.

I realized it wasn't crown and stem, like with broccoli, but more a ball, like red cabbage. Then it dawned on me that it was violet cauliflower.

I was stunned!

I'd never seen one before, be it in that store or in the supermarkets around, in Luxembourg or Germany. Not that I've paid attention, though.

I guess I was also hungry as noon was nearing – so I took it, too.

And that's the reason pumpkin must wait a week longer.

Of course, it had to be processed quickly – they didn't give it off for half the price for nothing – so I immediately started brainstorming.

Frying it and eating it with something like rice or pasta and some whipped up sauce? Nah, too easy.

Soup? Booooring!

Then it hit me: burger!

So I sought a recipe that, next to the cauliflower, also included ingredients my late Großmama and Oma would've recognized as food. Except grilled cheese – würg! Then rather avocado (which I don't love particularly, either).

Also, I can so imagine Laura effing with Vince's mind and taste in my novel series. I already see – and hear – them in my mind: she explaining and demonstrating the steps and offering him samples, and he, the whole time with a scrunched-up face: "But, luv, it's FECKIN' VIOLET!"

But now enough babble! They were bombastic So off to the kitchen – you WDC-kids need to eat something healthy for a change!




Serves: 2 burgers; 7 veg balls & 3 plates of soup

Yes, that makes {{b}seven individual servings, talk about meal prep. I put the soup in the freezer – the rest I eat over the weekend.


Prep Times: 100/30 minutes (for the burgers); about 20 minutes (for the veg balls) & about 45 minutes (for the soup)


Degree of Difficulty: Easy




WE NEED


BURGERS:


2 buns 1 grain & 1 rye roll, in my case


Patties

2 middle-sized potatoes 6 - 7 oz.
1/2 cauliflower
160 gr / 5-6 oz. panko crumbs Actually "just" bread crumbs, but I wanted to use up the panko.
80 gr / 3 oz. oats

It took me forever to figure out crumbs and oats because the measures were in cups and not grams.
Not American cups, though, but German / European cups which means different things depending on where you are. Google only spit out garbage when I entered "convert cups into grams". Also I don't possess such small cups, so used the smallest mug I have. Therefore the crass time difference in making the burgers.

2 eggs M-sized
1 garlic clove Or 2 so that one's not so alone.
1 tsp salt
1 pinch of pepper
1 pinch onion & garlic powders I used a real – and red – onion.



"Guacamole" (Avocado cream)

1 avocado
2 tbsp sour cream Natural, means unprocessed
1 garlic clove
1/2 lime Organic; if not: wash hot to wash off pesticides!
1 pinch each of salt + pepper



The Rest

1/2 onion Red. Looks good with the violet patties.
4 lettuce leaves Iceberg here.
2 slices grilled cheese If you fancy it. I took two slices of matured cheddar.



VEG BALLS: the rest of the Patty Mass If there's some left – Americans make burgers double the size than Europeans



SOUP This is really leftovers from the burgers.

1/2 cauliflower
1/2 red onion
1 garlic clove
75 gr / 2.6 oz. sour cream
salt + pepper To season
herbs Optional: but an opportunity to use them up, if needed




WE DO


BURGER


1. Cut the cauliflower in small pieces and cook with the potatoes. I quartered the potatoes so they were done with cauliflower. In the meantime, finely chop onion & garlic.


2. Mince cauliflower + potatoes in the food processor or blender, and add eggs, spices, breadcrumbs / panko + oats. I didn't do it in the blender but portion-wise minced the vegs in the food processor and assembled the patty mass by hand in a separate bowl.


3. Shape 2 patties and fry them with 1 tbsp canola oil in a pan until they're golden-brown. Shall the mass be too liquid, add some more breadcrumbs.


4. Fry the grilled cheese. Ew! I used some leftover cheddar, not fried.


5. Cut the onion into thin rings.


6. GUACAMOLE: squash the avocado and mix in sour cream, garlic, lime juice, salt + pepper. I didn't particularly love guacamole, even if I made it myself, but with the sour cream in the mix...


7. Build the burger: spread guacamole on both buns, then on the lower half put salad, patty, onion, cheese and top with the upper halves.




VEG BALLS: shape patties until the rest of the mass is used up – I made them about 1/2 the size of the burger patties – and fry them in a pan with some canola oil until they're golden brown.





You can keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 - 4 days. It shouldn't be longer as vegs are very sensible food, and could turn foul, even if they were processed, e.g. cooked / fried.



SOUP





1. Chop – finely – onion + garlic and cauliflower.


2. Sauté onion + garlic for like 5 minutes in a pot on medium heat, then add the cauliflower and fry for 2, 3 more minutes. Fill up water until the vegs are covered and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower has softened – but not disintegrated!


3. Add sour cream and purée with a hand blender until it's a soup.


4. Season with salt + pepper Optionally, herbs, like I did.


You can freeze the soup, like I did – after trying it – or keep it in the fridge when you know you'll finish it off in the next 2 - 3 days.



Guten Hunger, everybody!