Double Drive-Thru Veggie Burgers

By DreiFromBK

Vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli is famous for her deliciously charred veggie burgers. For a "special sauce," she swaps out mayo for silken-tofu mayonnaise to make a tangy-sweet vegan take on Thousand Island dressing.

Ingredients

• sauce
• 6 ounces soft tofu, cubed
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon agave
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• Kosher salt
• burgers
• 5 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• One 15-ounce can cooked lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup toasted walnuts
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 4 hamburger buns plus 4 bun bottoms, toasted
• Tomato slices, dill pickle chips, lettuce and thinly sliced red onion, for topping

Details

Adapted from foodandwine.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make the sauce In a blender, puree the tofu with the ketchup, mustard, agave and garlic until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and stir in the pickle relish and dill; season with salt and refrigerate.

Make the burgers In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until softened, 2 minutes; season with salt. Scrape the onion and garlic into a food processor. Add the rice, lentils, walnuts, flour and dried basil and pulse until the mixture just comes together and whole grains of rice are still visible; season with salt and pepper. Using lightly oiled hands, press 1/3 cup of the mixture into a 1/2-inch-thick patty; transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining mixture for a total of 8 patties. 

Wipe out the skillet and heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in it. Arrange 4 burger patties in the pan and cook over moderately high heat until browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Flip the patties and continue cooking until browned and heated through, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer the patties to a work surface. Repeat with the remaining oil and burger patties. 

Spread the sauce on 4 of the bun bottoms and top with 4 patties and half of the burger toppings; top with the remaining bun bottoms. Repeat the layering once more, with more sauce and the remaining patties, toppings and the bun tops; serve.

Make Ahead

The Special Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Suggested Pairing

Wine: Bright and spicy Zinfandel.