Recipe: Halloumi Veggie Burgers
Feb. 21st, 2025 09:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
recipecommunityToday we made Halloumi Veggie Burgers. Ironically the mango sauce was our favorite part.
"Halloumi Veggie Burgers"
Ingredients:
2 large portabella caps
truffle olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced
2 tablespoons Patak's sweet mango chutney
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
pinch of ginger powder
pinch of Aleppo pepper
8 ounce package of halloumi cheese
olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Santorini Citrus spice blend
4 brioche burger buns
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Carefully remove the stems from the portabella caps. Wash the top of the portabella caps; try to avoid getting the underside and gills wet. Pat dry. Place stem side down on the baking sheet. Brush tops with truffle oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of black pepper.
Bake the portabella caps at 400°F for 10 minutes. Flip over and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm.
While the portabella caps are baking, cut 2 thick slices from the middle of the tomato. Save the rest of the tomato for another recipe.
In a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons mango chutney and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. Stir in a pinch of ginger powder and a pinch of Aleppo pepper. Adjust consistency and spice level if desired.
Heat a skillet with a little olive oil.
Cut 2 slices of halloumi cheese, about 1/4" thick. Pat dry. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle top side with Santorini Citrus spice blend. Place seasoned side down in hot skillet, then sprinkle spice on top of the slices.
Cook the halloumi 2-4 minutes until golden brown on the bottom. Flip over and cook 2-4 minutes until golden brown on the second side.
Open the brioche buns. Put a portabella cap on the bottom part, then a tomato slice, then a halloumi cheese slice. Spread the mango sauce over the cheese. Top with the upper half of the bun. Serve hot.
Notes:
Portabella mushrooms grow quite large, and the palm-sized caps make a great meat replacement when baked or grilled. However, we found them very wet once cooked and they made the buns soggy. For future reference, consider coating the buns with butter or some other sealant.
I happened to have truffle infused olive oil, so I used that to brush the portabella caps. If you don't have any, you can use another flavor or plain olive oil. If you want the truffle flavor, you could also use truffle salt instead of plain sea salt.
Any large beefsteak or slicing tomato should work. Heirloom tomatoes tend to give better flavors though. Ideally, look for either a fruity or a meaty flavored tomato if possible. We used a commercial one because that's all that was available in winter.
Patak's sweet mango chutney is a thick, sweet condiment similar to marmalade. Adding a little apple cider vinegar thins it to sauce consistency, and the spices make the flavor more complex. We both loved this sauce and definitely want to make it again. We've used the chutney before as a glaze for cooking meat and this would doubtless work better. You can use it wherever you'd use sweet-and-sour sauce.
Apple cider vinegar has a fruity, sweet, and sour flavor. It is often available as a live culture and will stay that way if you don't heat it too much. It works great in sauces and dressings.
Ginger powder is a hot spice that works well in both sweet and savory dishes. That's what I had to work with, but you could also use fresh grated ginger, candied ginger, or ginger juice.
Aleppo pepper is a Syrian cultivar of hot pepper with moderate heat and fruity notes. If you don't have any, you can substitute any other fruity type of pepper, or choose something hotter. I considered sweet or hot paprika and chipotle powder before picking the Aleppo. For more heat, and if you're making a bigger batch of sauce, you might like habañero or Carolina reaper.
Halloumi cheese is a dense, wet, and very salt cheese. It has such a high melting point that it is commonly pan-fried or grilled to soften it because it holds its shape well when hot. It's not as good cold. Because of the high salt content, I recommend this for summer when you've been sweating. It pairs very well with juicy things like tomato, and if you enjoy salt on watermelon that's another option.
Santorini Citrus spice blend comes from the gourmet store Grovestone and includes Mediterranean herbs plus lemon and orange zest. It's recommended for fish or chicken. I figured its flavors would work well with a Mediterranean cheese, and it does. You could also make salad dressing with it.
On the whole, we enjoyed this recipe. If we do it again, we'll probably try it in summer and with beef patties. We definitely want to make the mango sauce again, though.
"Halloumi Veggie Burgers"
Ingredients:
2 large portabella caps
truffle olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced
2 tablespoons Patak's sweet mango chutney
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
pinch of ginger powder
pinch of Aleppo pepper
8 ounce package of halloumi cheese
olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Santorini Citrus spice blend
4 brioche burger buns
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Carefully remove the stems from the portabella caps. Wash the top of the portabella caps; try to avoid getting the underside and gills wet. Pat dry. Place stem side down on the baking sheet. Brush tops with truffle oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of black pepper.
Bake the portabella caps at 400°F for 10 minutes. Flip over and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm.
While the portabella caps are baking, cut 2 thick slices from the middle of the tomato. Save the rest of the tomato for another recipe.
In a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons mango chutney and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. Stir in a pinch of ginger powder and a pinch of Aleppo pepper. Adjust consistency and spice level if desired.
Heat a skillet with a little olive oil.
Cut 2 slices of halloumi cheese, about 1/4" thick. Pat dry. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle top side with Santorini Citrus spice blend. Place seasoned side down in hot skillet, then sprinkle spice on top of the slices.
Cook the halloumi 2-4 minutes until golden brown on the bottom. Flip over and cook 2-4 minutes until golden brown on the second side.
Open the brioche buns. Put a portabella cap on the bottom part, then a tomato slice, then a halloumi cheese slice. Spread the mango sauce over the cheese. Top with the upper half of the bun. Serve hot.
Notes:
Portabella mushrooms grow quite large, and the palm-sized caps make a great meat replacement when baked or grilled. However, we found them very wet once cooked and they made the buns soggy. For future reference, consider coating the buns with butter or some other sealant.
I happened to have truffle infused olive oil, so I used that to brush the portabella caps. If you don't have any, you can use another flavor or plain olive oil. If you want the truffle flavor, you could also use truffle salt instead of plain sea salt.
Any large beefsteak or slicing tomato should work. Heirloom tomatoes tend to give better flavors though. Ideally, look for either a fruity or a meaty flavored tomato if possible. We used a commercial one because that's all that was available in winter.
Patak's sweet mango chutney is a thick, sweet condiment similar to marmalade. Adding a little apple cider vinegar thins it to sauce consistency, and the spices make the flavor more complex. We both loved this sauce and definitely want to make it again. We've used the chutney before as a glaze for cooking meat and this would doubtless work better. You can use it wherever you'd use sweet-and-sour sauce.
Apple cider vinegar has a fruity, sweet, and sour flavor. It is often available as a live culture and will stay that way if you don't heat it too much. It works great in sauces and dressings.
Ginger powder is a hot spice that works well in both sweet and savory dishes. That's what I had to work with, but you could also use fresh grated ginger, candied ginger, or ginger juice.
Aleppo pepper is a Syrian cultivar of hot pepper with moderate heat and fruity notes. If you don't have any, you can substitute any other fruity type of pepper, or choose something hotter. I considered sweet or hot paprika and chipotle powder before picking the Aleppo. For more heat, and if you're making a bigger batch of sauce, you might like habañero or Carolina reaper.
Halloumi cheese is a dense, wet, and very salt cheese. It has such a high melting point that it is commonly pan-fried or grilled to soften it because it holds its shape well when hot. It's not as good cold. Because of the high salt content, I recommend this for summer when you've been sweating. It pairs very well with juicy things like tomato, and if you enjoy salt on watermelon that's another option.
Santorini Citrus spice blend comes from the gourmet store Grovestone and includes Mediterranean herbs plus lemon and orange zest. It's recommended for fish or chicken. I figured its flavors would work well with a Mediterranean cheese, and it does. You could also make salad dressing with it.
On the whole, we enjoyed this recipe. If we do it again, we'll probably try it in summer and with beef patties. We definitely want to make the mango sauce again, though.
