Smoked Tofu & Red Kidney Bean Burger

29 January 2025 (Wednesday)

Well, quite a tumultuous week so far. A desk day, and Richard has news… we'll have to wait on this though. The highlight of today… Smoked Tofu & Red Kidney Bean Burgers!

Recipe: Smoked Tofu & Red Kidney Bean Burger

These have developed over a period of time. They started as Sweet Potato and Red Kidney Bean Burgers, though I always felt they were missing something - nice, though nothing to write home about.

On opening one of my spice drawers a few weeks ago, I spotted the lovely smoked paprika I get from For Earth’s Sake, and on opening the cupboard below the drawer (where tins are kept) I saw some red kidney beans and thought… “Ahhh”. I followed on the “Ahhh” with an “Oooh” as I remembered that a few months ago I had bought some smoked tofu and popped it in the freezer. “What if I mix them all together and get a lovely smoky beanie burger?” After a few trials, a new recipe is born…

Ingredients:
200g Smoked Tofu, mashed
1 Red Onion
Grated Sweet Potato (200g ish)
400g Tin Red Kidney Beans, rinsed, drained and mashed
(if you cook your own beans, use about 250g of cooked beans)
Tablespoon Olive Oil
Rounded Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
Tablespoon Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce
Tablespoon Miso Paste
Tablespoon Tomato Paste
2 rounded tablespoons Yeast Flakes
3 rounded tablespoons gram flour, vital wheat gluten or plain flour.

Method:
Rinse and well drain a tin of kidney beans, pat dry (if you have time), and then mash most of the beans in a bowl with a fork. Set this aside for using shortly.

Remove the tofu from the packet and pat dry, then lightly mash with a fork. Add a small red onion, finely chopped, and grate a small’ish sweet potato (no need to peel, though cut off growing end) into the tofu and onion. Give all a stir, then add the olive oil, smoked paprika, liquid aminos (or soy), miso paste, tomato paste and yeast flakes and give all a thorough mix, making sure each ingredient is well incorporated. Then add in the mashed red kidney beans and again give all a thorough mix.

​At this stage, the mix will be a little moister than we want, so add in the gram flour (or VWG / Plain flour) one spoon at a time, giving a good mix after each addition.  If the kidney beans and tofu were patted dry well then once all the gram flour is incorporated the mixture will be much firmer. If it’s not, feel free to add another tablespoon of gram flour.  Leave the mixture aside for ten minutes, just to get to know itself.  After this time, portion the mix up into four and with slightly wet hands shape four burgers, either round and fat flatter if that’s how you like them - though not too thin!  Set the burgers on a plate to rest.

These burgers can be pan fried, baked in the oven, or even under a grill (though not on a rack, as they are then difficult to flip).  I prefer to bake these, so here goes.

Preheat an oven at 180C.  Immediately pop in a baking tray to heat as the oven does, then once the oven is up to temp remove the baking tray using oven gloves, spoon a teaspoon of olive oil on and roll this around to roughly coat the base of the tray.  Carefully add the burgers one by one, put a few drops of olive oil on each burger, and then pop the baking tray back in the oven.  Cook for ten minutes, remove the tray (oven gloves again!), carefully flip the burgers over, pop the tray back in the oven and cook for a further 12-15 minutes, or until they are taking on some colour.

If you wish to pan fry or grill, do so over a medium heat for the same cooking time, flipping the burgers over as above after ten minutes.

Serve with the toppings and sides of your choice!

I guarantee you will be making these again!!

Weather:  A bland sky first thing, so pale and dull.  The day overall was grey…

Breakfast:  Bran Sticks, yogurt, oat milk, banana
Lunch:  Lidl Lentil Soup (tin), red lentils and final leftover of the Instant Chilli
Supper:  Smoked Tofu & Red Kidney Bean Burger, Lidl Skin On Fries, Grated Carrot salad (carrot, onion, celery, cucumber, radish in a grain mustard dressing)