This may sound like an incredibly odd combination of ingredients but I have to say, this was a wonderful experiment that I will likely perform again and again! I hope you find inspiration in it and give it a shot as well.
Zucchini Burgers
In my burgers, I was limited by supplies that I had on hand. Buying groceries in this era of the COVID-19 pandemic is quite different and many times you just get what you can get when you can get it. So, while I wanted to create the following recipe step by step, I simply could not under the circumstances.
I was able to use the zucchini, bread crumbs, seasonings, and a single egg lightly beaten. I added some shredded cheese to my mixture as well as about a teaspoon of garlic salt.
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Dash cayenne pepper
- 3 hard-boiled large egg whites, chopped
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 4 whole-wheat hamburger buns, split
- 4 lettuce leaves
- 4 slices tomato
- 4 slices onion
Instructions
- In a sieve or colander, drain zucchini, squeezing to remove excess liquid. Pat dry. In a small bowl, combine the zucchini, onion, bread crumbs, eggs, salt, and cayenne. Gently stir in chopped egg whites.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Drop batter by scant 2/3 cupfuls into oil; press lightly to flatten. Fry in batches until golden brown on both sides, using remaining oil as needed.
- Serve on buns with lettuce, tomato, and onion.
I cannot wait to make this recipe again step by step as listed above, and I think I would keep my additional seasoning and shredded cheese as well!
Tater Tot Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 (32-ounce) bag frozen tater tots, thawed
- 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat a waffle iron to medium-high heat. Lightly oil the top and bottom of the waffle iron or coat with nonstick spray.
- Working in batches, spread tater tots in an even layer into the waffle iron; season with cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper, to taste. Close, pressing down firmly to flatten, and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 5-6 minutes, or until desired crispness is reached. Repeat with remaining tater tots, adding more nonstick spray as needed.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Building the burger![]()
Now that you have made your burgers and your tot waffles as described above, you can now begin building your burger! Using two pieces of tot waffles and one zucchini burger, you will use one waffle as the base of the sandwich, placing the burger on the top of it and the other tot waffle will serve as the lid to the sandwich.
As for the other burger ingredients, I didn’t have lettuce, tomato or onion on hand. I decided to top my burger with a tablespoon of warmed salsa con queso before placing the lid onto it. Optional sauces also include ranch dressing, mayonnaise or even sriracha sauce. I have also heard of people making a tzatziki sauce for their zucchini patties to be dunked into. You can find a recipe for this sauce here: https://thewanderlustkitchen.com/authentic-greek-tzatziki/
What about sides?
You can have any typical burger side dishes on the side of this recipe. Though, with its vast textures, flavors, and variety of ingredients, you may want to keep the side dishes simple with a salad, sweet corn or rice. French fries would likely lead consumers into a carb induced coma, though that is also an option.
