Falafel burger

I was thinking of writing more about food and sharing out our recipes with you. So to break the monotony of travel posts, here's one with a great recipe for a vegetarian burger.

A classic meat burger is something that most people favor, but vege burger can be surprisingly very good! We came up with a recipe for soft buns and falafel patties in combination with green salad, tomatoes, cheese and tartar sauce.

BUNS

Ingredients (for approximately 8 buns):

• 420g + 60g plain flour
• 150mL of lukewarm milk
• 7g dry yeast
• 40g sugar
• 100g butter
• 2 eggs
• hot water as needed (the more liquid the softer the pastry)
• teaspoon of salt
• egg to coat
• optional: sesame seeds to sprinkle

Preparation:

1. In one bowl, mix 60g of flour, yeast and milk, cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for about 40 minutes.
2. In another bowl, mix all the other ingredients (except the butter!) And add the remaining mixture.
3. First mix everything with a spoon and then knead with your hands until the mixture is compact and soft and does not stick to your hands. If necessary, add flour, but be careful not to add too much because the point is to make the buns as soft as possible.
4. Finally, when you have managed to form a dough, gradually add the pieces of butter and knead further.
5. Put the dough back in a lightly floured bowl and cover with a cloth. Leave at room temperature until doubled.
6. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape into balls. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for about half an hour to rise.
7. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
8. Coat the buns with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
9. Bake the buns for about 15 minutes.

FALAFEL PATTIES

Ingredients:

• 650g chickpeas (canned)
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3-4 tablespoons plain flour (or more)
• 1 chili pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin or coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 12g chopped fresh parsley
• salt, pepper

Preparation:

1. Put all the ingredients in one bowl and blend with a stick blender.
2. If the mixture is too hard add a little water and olive oil, possibly an egg if it's not compact.
3. Leave the mixture in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
4. Shape the patties and fry in a little oil over medium heat for a few minutes until they get a nice color.

Now all that remains is to make the sauce you want. We used tartar sauce, and here’s what we put in it: 1 sour cream, a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise, a teaspoon of ketchup, a teaspoon of mustard, 1 finely chopped garlic, plenty of finely chopped pickles, salt and parsley.

We also added a little bit of lettuce, tomatoes and cheddar cheese. And that's it! You are ready to make the burger! 🍔

Enjoy your meal! 😊