Hazelnut veggie burger with red cabbage, chestnut cream, cranberry jam and rosemary chips

INGREDIENTS (4 portions):

Hazelnut burger patties ingredients:

• 1 leek chopped finely
• 2 medium size carrots grated
• 150g cooked potatoes (ideally salad potatoes or any dense variety like Jersey Royal potatoes)
• 1 1/2 cups of oats (gluten-free or normal)
• 100g of hazelnuts
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder/granules
• 1 tsp of sage

Red cabbage ingredients:

• 1 small red cabbage
• 1 small onion
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash of sugar (optional)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Juice of 1/2 an orange
• 1 stock cube

Chestnut creme ingredients:

• 150g of cooked chestnuts
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• A dash of black pepper

Rosemary chips ingredients:

• 1kg large salad potatoes
• A few twigs of rosemary
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder
• Oil (sunflower oil or extra virgin olive oil)

Other ingredients:

• 4 rolls
• Cranberry jam

METHOD:

Hazelnut burger recipe:

Boil 150g of potatoes (with skin or without, it's up to you) until they get soft enough to mash. Let them cool down or let some cool water run over them (make sure they don't absorb too much moisture though).

Finely grate one carrots and put aside.

Either crush 150g of hazelnuts or put them in a food processor for a short time so they break apart - don't grind them too much, they shouldn't turn into hazelnut powder.

Then chop of 1 leek and sauté in a bit of oil until it softens.

Put the potatoes into a large bowl and start mashing them. Ad all other ingredients to the same bowl and mix together well until you get a dough like consistency.

Form round patties with your hand and pan fry in a bit of oil. Make sure you don't burn the patties.

Red cabbage recipe:

Chop 1 small red cabbage and 1 small onion. Sauté in a large pan with some oil. Then add 400ml of water to it (you might have to add more later if it evaporates) and all other ingredients. Let cook for around 30 minutes. Close the lid and stir every now and then so that it doesn't burn. Add a bit more water if necessary.

Rosemary chips recipe:

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F).

Cut potatoes into chips sized slices - I used a slicer (see image above) as I thought it would save time but it didn't really work out well, next time I will cut them by hand again. Oh, and keep the skin on, it tastes nicer and is more nutritious.

Put them into a bowl, add some sunflower or extra virgin olive oil and season them with rosemary, salt, black pepper and garlic powder and mix together well. Let rest for 10 minutes for the flavours to get absorbed (admittedly I was impatient and didn't wait and they still tasted amazing).

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Grease the baking paper with some oil and then add the sliced and seasoned potatoes on it. Make sure they aren't on top of each other or too close together.

Bake for 35 min or until brown and crisp.

Chestnut cream recipe:

Put all ingredients into a blender with 450ml of water and blend until you get a very smooth consistency.

Cook for about 5 minutes until the flavours develop nicely.

Final assembly:

Once everything is prepared assemble the burger by cutting the rolls in half, adding the red cabbage first, then putting the hazelnut burger patty on top and pouring the chestnut cream over it. Serve with the rosemary chips and cranberry jam on the side. Enjoy and get merry! ;-)

And if you are looking for a delicious dessert to accompany your Christmas dinner, why not try my polenta and poppyseed cake covered in marzipan.