A while back, when we first got our copy of The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet the first recipe we tried was for the Denver Omelet Burger. While we really the idea, the resulting texture was described as pasty and it felt like the peppers and onions overwhelmed the vegan bac’n bits. I’ve always wanted to return to this and try changing a couple of things to create something very inspired by Joni Marie’s original recipe, but with a bit more texture and less oil. The Great Vegan Gluten-Free Burger Experiment is the perfect time to revisit the recipe!

I actually removed all the oil called for in the recipe save some spray oil for sautéing the pepper, onion, and garlic as well as some for the cast-iron drop biscuit pan. Once again this pan is the perfect thing for baking vegan burgers!

Other changes: I used a single, large orange bell pepper and only half a medium onion, both diced quite small. I used a couple of cloves of chopped garlic too. This I sautéed in a cast iron skillet until the onions started to caramelize.

I pressed the heck out of the tofu, thinking this was part of the texture problem the first time we tried. Next, rather than blend the tofu with oil and spiced, I just crumbled it up fine in a bowl, added all the spices in with the tofu and mixed it up by hand.

To bind this all I stuck with the chickpea flour (besan), but reduced to 1/2 cup and added 1/2 cup of gluten-free, instant oats as well. I also decided to throw 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast in there for stickiness and saltiness. I left out the salt the original recipe called for, but I think it should stay in with the next try with this revamped recipe.

One little change I make with all recipes calling for liquid smoke; I use smoked paprika instead. Since the original recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of paprika, I just increased to 1/2 teaspoon of sweet, smoked paprika.

The results, all squished together by hand, were promising and held together well, especially after letting the mixture stand for five minutes to let the oats hydrate.

The drop-biscuit pan came out of the oven, heated to 350. I made 6 good-sized breakfast burgers and put them into the oiled cups.

These baked for 10 minutes. I turned them and then baked for 10 additional minutes. They came out nicely browned. Next attempt I’ll use red bell pepper for a more striking look. The oat/besan mixture gets a nice color and these held together beautifully in a nice patty.

I served them alongside hashbrown squares from Trader Joe’s, a pile of steamed broccoli, and a little avocado on top.

There’s a couple of small changes I’m going to make, and I want to see how these pass the “freeze test”, but these may become a great breakfast to-go, particularly for long travel days.

I’m so excited that Vegan Nosh has been selected to participate in the So Delicious® Dairy Free “SO Much to Love” recipe contest happening on Facebook! For the next 4 weeks there will be 64 fantastic new recipes posted, with three brand-new recipes coming from Vegan Nosh!

Each week there will great prizes for fans who vote during the “SO Much to Love” contest. Fans are eligible to vote once each day and once they cast their vote will be entered to win a prize a day and one grand prize per week. The authors of favorite recipes will receive the truly fabulous prize of a cooking equipment shopping spree!

This week I’m kicking off the deliciousness with a hearty, hot breakfast. You can vote for my wonderful Spiced Oats & Figs as a new favorite breakfast recipe on So Delicious’ Facebook page during the week of May 7, 2012! Voting for the first week ends on Sunday, May 13th at 11:59 PM (pacific time).

On weekends I have a little more time to make breakfast, so it is often something special. This delicious variation on an old favorite of ours, steel-cut oatmeal, makes use of dried figs and the wonderful Vanilla Almond Plus milk from So Delicious and makes for a mildly sweet, healthy breakfast to start your day.

If you happen to have a “fuzzy logic” rice cooker with a porridge setting this recipe becomes even easier since you can just toss all the ingredients in and wait for your breakfast to be done. Our rice cooker also boasts a timer which lets me put in all the ingredients the night before and we awake to the tantalizing smell of a breakfast already completed.

The Stuff

• 3/4 cup steel-cut oatmeal, dry
• 3/4 cup So Delicious Vanilla Almond Plus Milk
• 1 1/4 cups + 1 Tablespoon water
• 5 dried figs
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

The Making

Slice of any stems or dry ends off the figs. Slice in half, then cut halves into thin ribbons.

Rice Cooker Method: Place all ingredients into rice cooker bowl and cook on “Porridge” setting. After the cooker has completed, open and stir together everything with a rice paddle.

OR

Stove-top Method: Add the water and almond milk to a large, heavy saucepan (1 1/2 quart) and bring to a boil. Add the oats in while stirring, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Mix in the dried figs and spices, cover, and continue to simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent the oats from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Garnish with chopped raw walnuts or almonds and a drizzle of almond milk.

Makes 2-3 servings

Nutritional Info (1/3 of recipe)

Calories: 222
Total Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 29 mg
Carbohydrates: 40 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 9 g