When I first started spending time in California, I kept in mind strolling into brightly painted cafes in LA, along with Cafe Gratitude or its east-aspect sister, Sage, and being so excited by the food. The menus look like something from a diner, but the ingredients have been a listing of farmers’ market veg, spices, grains stuff I cooked with at domestic. As a vegetarian 10 years ago, it felt like a massive novelty, so I could consume something on the menu that felt like a deal but was made with a rainbow of accurate stuff, and it has encouraged how I prepare dinner.
I discover LA an endlessly inspiring area to cook, devour and find new ideas, so this week’s recipes are an ode to the ones first inspiring food, which I nonetheless crave: a spiced carrot burger with spiced roast carrots, tofu, and smoked paprika, which is loaded with more veg within the form of avocado salsa, and a rainbow veg bowl, that is the type of issue I eat for lunch or dinner in spring and summertime.
Roast carrot burger with avocado salsa
This has grown to be our favorite veggie burger. I make this the usage of vegetarian parmesan. However, you can use vegan cheese alternatively. Once cool, the uncooked burgers can be wrapped and frozen for up to 4 months.
Prep 30 min
Chill 1 hr
Cook 40 min
Makes 6 burgers
600g carrots, peeled and cut into 1-2cm-thick rounds
1 tsp candied smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds, roughly bashed in a mortar
Salt and black pepper
Olive oil
200g smoked or company tofu
100g breadcrumbs
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
60g grated (vegetarian or vegan) parmesan
50g sesame seeds, toasted
For the salsa
2 avocados, stoned and kind of chopped
100g cherry tomatoes, more or less chopped
Juice and zest of 1 lime
3 spring onions, finely sliced
½ bunch coriander, finely chopped
For the short pickled radishes
½ bunch radishes, finely sliced
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
1 squeeze of honey, or a pinch of sugar
To serve
6 burger buns, cut up and toasted
Mayonnaise
Lettuce
First, roast the carrots. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Tumble the carrots directly into a baking tray with the smoked paprika, cumin, a few salt and pepper, and an amazing drizzle of olive oil. Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and roast for a further 10 minutes until it is tender and starting to brown.
While those are roasting, finely fall apart 1/2 the tofu right into a bowl and upload the breadcrumbs, parsley, lemon zest, parmesan, and sesame seeds. Once the carrots are ready, take them out of the oven (leave the oven on if baking your burgers), leave them to chill a touch, then blitz in a processor with the remaining tofu until the whole thing is thoroughly disbursed and the mixture is quite smooth.
Leave to cool a bit, then upload this to the breadcrumb mixture and mix properly, using a spoon to mash and persuade everything to come collectively. If your mixture seems a touch dry, upload more than one tablespoons of olive oil or water till it comes together well.
Shape the mixture into six patties, lay them on a plate, then place them in the fridge for an hour.
Once you’re ready to cook, put a huge frying pan over medium heat and upload a little olive oil, swirling it to coat the pan. Add the burgers and cook for three to four minutes on every aspect, flipping when properly-colored or baked for 25-half-hour. If you’re barbecuing the burgers, brush them with oil before cooking on one facet, flipping only while they are colored and crisp sufficient to come back far away from the bars without problems.
While the burgers cook, make the salsa, mix all the ingredients in a bowl, season well, and deliver it a terrific mix, then set it aside. The pickle positioned the radishes in a bowl, covered with the vinegar, added the salt and honey/sugar, and mixed properly.
When the burgers are almost completed, split and toast your buns.
Spread one-half of each bun with a spoonful of mayonnaise, then pile with the lettuce leaves, a bit of salsa, the burger, and a tablespoon of the pickle. Cover with the bun lid and consume immediately.
LA Rainbow Bowl
This is great for a fresh, brief lunch at the go, and might without difficulty be prepared in a tiny office kitchen or on a picnic rug in the park (you could carry the hummus, dressing, and cooked grains, plus the raw veg and a speed peeler to peel them properly into the bowl). I regularly make a model of this at domestic for lunch, and you could swap the veg for what’s in season and alternate the quinoa for some other grain, too.
