Simply prepared vegetables and cooked grains are what we’ve mostly been eating this fall. We still get a lot of kale from our little allotment garden plot – I can’t believe it yields crop until December in Finland! It was especially surprising ot find out since kale is pretty expensive and very hard to find in supermarkets around here. Food industry is quite a mystery, but that has nothing to do with this recipe, other than that kale leaves would be a nice addition to any burger really.
Now these burgers are not about the patty, since the “patty” is actually just a slice of fried tofu, and I guess that in the US these might most likely be called sandwiches instead of burgers. But the main thing that’s going on here is the beet-sauerkraut relish, with its sweet-tangy taste that goes so very well with the rye bread, and its beety texture that is quite lovely with the fried tofu – especially when everything is drenched in creamy tahini sauce. Simple, quick, and tasty, just the way we prefer our dinners to be right now.
This recipe makes enough for 4 burgers, with some extra beet relish and tahini sauce left over. The relish is mighty tasty as a side dish as well, and we often serve this sauce with cooked grains like quinoa or barley. We also filled our burgers with pea sprouts and sliced yellow bell pepper, and enjoyed them with a side of carrot sticks.
The Tofu:
- 300 grams tofu
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- canola oil for frying
- black pepper to taste
Heikki first cut the tofu in 4 slices, pressed them for a bit with some cheesecloth, and then fried them in canola oil until slightly brown on both sides. Then he drizzled the liquid smoke and the soy sauce in the pan and turned the slices over a few times to make sure they got an even coating, and crackled plenty of black pepper over the tofu when it was ready.
The Beet Relish:
- 2 large beets, julienned (or even grated)
- 1 and 1/2 dl sauerkraut (about 100 grams)
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
- (a sqeeze of lemon juice)
I heated the oil in a frying pan and fried the onion until slightly browned. Then I added the beets and the sauerkraut in the pan, and fried for about 5 minutes, until the beet started to soften. Now I added the salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice, covered the pan, and let it stew until everything else was ready to serve (it took about 10 minutes).
Tahini Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1 dl nutritional yeast
- 3/4 dl water
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Heikki just dumped all the ingredients in our mini food processor and mixed until thoroughly combined and creamy. The thickness of this sauce can be easily adjusted by cutting the amount of water – this makes quite a runny sauce.
To assemble, we buttered out two toasted rye bread slices with a bit of vegan margarine, slathered the bread slices with tahini sauce, then added a pile of the beet relish on the bottom slice. That got drizzled with some more sauce, then covered by a slice of tofu and a bunch of veggies, and another drizzle of the sauce.
16 Comments
Oh yum! Now I know what we’re gonna have for the weekend. I love sauerkraut and beets, although combining them never crossed my mind. Thank you so much, for this lovely blog, and for continuous inspiration.
These burgers look and sound so delicious. I LOVE sauerkraut and just thinking of it with the beets, tahini, and tofu is making me hungry right now. Thanks for the idea.
It seems really tasty, I’d love to have it for dinner!
Thanks for a great idea; I made the sauerkraut/beet relish to go along with a tofu/walnut burger tonight, and it was great!
I did a falafel, beetroot dip and kale wrap a few months back and it was great so I agree with you about kale leaves in burgers
I tried a version of your tahini sauce last night and it was lovely – thanks
Your comments are all so very nice, thank you!
Colin – I’m glad to hear you liked the relish, and I can definitely imagine it going well with a tofu-walnut burger.
Johanna – thank you, it’s great to hear you tried and liked the sauce! We’ve been making it a lot lately, usually without measuring so it’s also always a little different.
sounds great! I love sauerkraut.
I have so many beets around right now, I need to make that relish. The burger looks so beuatiful and those buns look interesting, too.
Mihl – those buns are just store-bought rye buns called Reissumies (Vagabond). There’s a bit of wheat and yeast in the ingredients so the bread’s softer than real rye bread – good to use for burgers.
What a tasty & fab meal this is!!
Marvellous!!
this looks and sounds so delicious!
What a delicious meal! I love beet relish, my grandmother makes it for special occasions and its always a treat.
I recently had something similar to this at a cafe and I was tempted to try making it at home, now after seeing your entry I think I’ll give it a try.
hi heikki, nice to find your blog :) A stupid question: is the beet relish typical finnish?
Hi Tippitappi, welcome. =)
No, I guess it’s not. Most of the stuff we blog about isn’t, really. You can find some Finnish recipes Anni has blogged about under the “Finnish”-tag.
I want to try this! Grandmother would love this!
I just found your blog through a Portland, Maine food blog, Cornucopia, and I ope to see you again soon. Love your recipes.