Imitation Nando’s – Vegan MoFo Day 6!

Today we are recreating a restaurant meal. I guess Nando’s counts as a restaurant – it’s not quite fast food but it’s certainly not posh! It’s very popular in the UK and it actually is pretty good for vegans! If you order their veggie pitta minus the mayo, it’s all cool. Chips and all. I decided to recreate it in my own way.

The Nando’s website describes the veggie burger as “a spicy soya and tomato burger seasoned with spring onion, green chilli, and cayenne pepper”. At the time of making, I did not have a green chilli to hand so just used extra cayenne! I based my recipe off my favourite TVP burgers – these that I found a while back. I know TVP is not really in vogue at the moment but it really works in these burgers!

I also cheated a little, and used a Nando’s sauce from a bottle, just to get that proper Nando’s taste. If you can find a “Piri Piri” sauce – that’s what you should use.

The burgers are pretty mushy when uncooked. You chill them in the fridge for half an hour to firm them up – but these are not ones you can put on a barbecue I’m afraid! They firm up a lot when fried though and then become great.

For authenticity, serve in a pita bread with salad and homemade chips!

'Nando's Burgers'

• Servings: 6 burgers
• Print

Ingredients

• 75g TVP
• 1 cup hot vegetable stock
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 200g mushrooms, finely chopped
• 25g oats
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 1 tsp cayenne powder
• 2 tbsp Piri Piri sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cornflour
• Salt and Pepper

To Serve

• Pita bread
• Salad
• Potato chips/fries

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together the vegetable stock and TVP and leave aside for 15 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, mash the black beans well.
3. Add the rest of the burger ingredients and mix well.
4. Add the soaked TVP to the burger mix, mix well, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Sprinkle a bit of flour onto a plate, and form the burger mix into six patties.
6. Coat each side of the patties in the flour.
7. Fry the patties over a medium – high heat until crispy on both sides, about 10 minutes.
8. Serve in a pita bread with salad and chips.