Plantain Burger

These plantain burgers are a must try for anyone who loves plantain. They are naturally sweet with a savoury element thanks to the chickpeas. Totally vegan friendly, contains no gluten, delicious, flavoursome and a must try!

I haven't posted a burger recipe in what feels like a very long time. The last being this Red Kidney Bean Burger.

However, behind the scenes I have been working on this plantain burger. Don't forget to check out my plantain recipe roundup.

After doing some trial and error, which included myself and loved ones eating a lot of burgers.

I managed to come up with what I deem the perfect plant based burger. With the right texture, ratio of seasoning and 3 cooking methods to choose from.

Reasons to make these burgers

• Child friendly and adult friendly too.
• A great way to get creative and have some fun in the kitchen
• Great way to use up those plantains and/or chickpeas
• You can either air fry, oven bake or lightly fry them
• They are plant based making them suitable for vegans/vegetarians
• Contains no gluten
• No eggs are needed for binding
• Perfect for any meal prep
• Freezer friendly

Binding the patties

This is a very important element that you cannot skip. It's best to follow my lead on this one and not get too carried away with alternatives. 

I found that gluten free breadcrumbs or coarsely grinded oat old fashioned oats work the best.

For this recipe I used breadcrumbs but the latter works just fine.

When I say coarsely grinded, what I mean by this is pulsing the oats a few times in your coffee/spice grinder to slightly break them down (but completely)

I haven't tried using a gluten free flour i.e brown rice, tapioca or even a flour blend so I cannot confidently say whether it works or hold up.

The best plantain to use

In terms of the plantain you will want to use what is pictured here. A yellow plantain with some dark spots.

The keyword being "SOME" don't use an overripe plantain because they are extremely soft and will compromise the texture of the patties.

You will most likely need to add a lot of of your chosen binder if you go against my advice. 

On the other hand, don't use plantain that is high yellow with NO SPOTS as this will be very firm (not soft) nor will it be sweet (unless of course, that's what you want).

You want the patty mixture to be pliable, so that it's easy to work with and more likely to be a success the first time.

The plantain preparation

As you can see from the picture above, I steamed my plantain using my steaming basket. This is a new addition and long overdue to my kitchen and culinary adventures. 

If you have a steaming basket then you can steam the plantain, just like I did or alternatively simply peel and boil the plantain until it is fork tender.

The steps

• Add the olive oil to a skillet on medium heat.
• Saute the onion and garlic until it is soft and translucent then set aside.
• Place the cooked plantain in a medium sized bowl then use a fork or potato masher to crush the plantain into a soft puree.
• Transfer the plantain to a food processor with a fitted S blade.
• Now add the chickpeas along with the cooked onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, carrot, red pepper flakes, thyme, ground coriander, parsley, paprika, black pepper, chilli and pink salt.

• Pulse the chickpeas so it is almost soft with a few chunky pieces of chickpeas.
• Once done, do a taste test of the vegetable burger mixture and adjust the seasoning if required. The overall mixture should be slightly sticky NOT WET. If it is too wet then add more breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Form the mixture into equal sized balls (you should get about 4-8 ) depending on the size.
• Roll each ball in the palm of your hands then press down to form a disc shape and repeat the above step with the rest of the balls.
• Place the patties on a non stick tray then place in the freezer for up to an hour.

To air fry

• Preheat the air fryer basket for 5 minutes.
• Place a non stick liner (if you have them in the basket then lightly coat it with oil
• Place the patties in the basket (you may need to do this in batches).
• Brush the sides and top with olive oil.
• Air fry the burgers at 180c/356f for 14-16 minutes turning over half way through then coating the top side with more oil.

Note and tips

• If you cannot find any red pepper flakes then use a tablespoon of very finely chopped red bell pepper.
• Remember, NOT to use an overripe plantain (skin is black). For best results use plantain that is yellow with some dark spots.
• Be sure to put the burgers in the freezer to assist with firming them up.
• Before forming the burgers, do a taste taste and adjust the seasoning if you need to.
• Freeze any unused patties BEFORE cooking them NOT after. They should hold up for about one month - place on a tray lined with parchment paper and wrap with saran (cling film).
• If you are using oats instead of breadcrumbs, remember to coarsely grind the oats first. You will want to use a coffee/spice grinder to do this.
• To make things more cost effective, use dried chickpeas (just cook them for 20 minutes in the Instant pot).

Sauces to pair this burger with

• Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce
• Mango Pineapple Hot Sauce

Recipes with chickpea and plantain

• Air Fried Chickpeas
• Vegan Chickpea Curry
• Vegan Caribbean Plantain Curry
• Oven Baked Sweet Plantain
• Plantain Porridge
• Stuffed Plantain

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