4 Mushroom-inspired burgers

Give burger night a mushroom makeover with these four seriously delicious mushroom-inspired burgers. From a veggie-friendly lentil and mushroom burger to beef, ostrich and venison blends, there’s a patty for every kind of burger lover. Expect juicy fillings, bold toppings and plenty of mushroom goodness, all piled into a bun and ready for your next weekend feast.

1. Lentil & mushroom burger with mushroom bun
2. Free-range beef & portobello mushroom burger with oven-roasted tomatoes
3. Mushtrich burger
4. Venison mushroom blended burger

Lentil & mushroom burger with mushroom bun

For the love of veg! Mushrooms boost immunity.

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

Patty

• 400 g white button mushrooms
• 2 x 400 g tin brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• ½ red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Avocado salsa

• 1 large ripe tomato, diced (or use a handful of colourful cherry tomatoes)
• ½ red onion, diced
• 2 small- to medium-sized avocados
• ¼ cup fresh coriander leaves
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Freshly ground pink peppercorns, to taste
• Salt, to taste

To serve

• 8 large portobello mushrooms
• 2 large carrots, peeled & further peeled into ribbons
• 2 cups mixed lettuce
• Sesame seeds

METHOD

For the patty

1. Blitz mushrooms in a food processor until finely diced.
2. Add mushrooms to a hot pan with a drizzle of olive oil.
3. Cook out all of their water. Work in batches if necessary to not overcrowd the pan.
4. Scrape mushrooms into a large bowl.
5. Add the lentils to the dry hot pan and toast them until dry.
6. Add to the bowl of cooked mushrooms.
7. In the same pan, add a fresh drizzle of olive oil and cook the onion until soft.
8. Add the garlic and paprika and cook for a minute until fragrant.
9. Add to the bowl of mushrooms and lentils.
10. Add the flour, breadcrumbs and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix everything well together. Mash some of the mixture against the side of the bowl. Keeping some of the lentils whole and some more mashed gives the patty great texture.
11. Divide the mixture into 4. The patties will be around 180g each.
12. Fry patties in a little drizzle of olive oil until golden brown on both sides.

For the salsa

1. Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and lightly mash together.
2. Season well.

To build the burger

1. Place the 8 portobellos on a wire rack on top of a baking tray.
2. Sprinkle with a little seasoning and roast for ± 7 minutes at 200˚C until tender.
3. Brush with a little BBQ sauce or any brown sauce to give them a glazed and shiny look.
4. Slice a little off 4 of the portobello “bottom buns” so they sit flat.
5. Top with a generous pile of greens and carrot ribbons.
6. Place a lentil and mushroom patty on each one.
7. Top with a generous amount of the avocado salsa and finish with the top portobello bun.
8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds for a burger effect and serve alongside some crunchy sweet potato fries.

Free-range beef & portobello mushroom burger with oven-roasted tomatoes

Say beef! Mushrooms fill you up, NOT OUT, so eat them every day.

SERVES 2

INGREDIENTS

Blended mushroom burger patty

• 200 g Free Range Beef Mince
• 200 g Portabella Mushrooms
• One bun per burger
• 4 g Finely Chopped Parsley
• 4 g Burger Spice
• 6 g Egg

Oven roasted tomatoes and mushrooms

• 60 g Cherry Tomatoes
• 60g Portabella Mushrooms
• 20 g Thyme
• 20 g Rosemary
• 100  ml Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

METHOD

Burger patty

1. Chop the parsley finely.
2. Chop the portabella mushrooms into small pieces, but not too fine (to retain texture)
3. Flash-fry the mushrooms before adding them to the mince
4. Mix the mushrooms, beef mince, chopped portabella mushrooms, parsley and Hudson’s burger spice
5. Add egg and combine thoroughly.
6. Shape mixture into a ball and either pan-fry or cook in an air fryer.

Oven-roasted tomatoes and mushrooms

1. Chop the Portabella mushrooms into quarters.
2. Place cherry tomatoes and Portabella mushrooms on a greaseproof baking sheet.
3. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
4. Add thyme and rosemary and place in the oven at 200°C for 10-12 min

To serve

1. Butter the buns with garlic butter (quality store-bought will do)
2. Place fresh rocket on the bottom bun
3. Place your burger patty on top of the rocket
4. Spoon on the roasted tomatoes and mushrooms over the patty.
5. Top with parmesan shavings and drizzle with truffle aioli.
6. Finish it off with the garlic-buttered top bun.

Mushtrich burger

Lean cuisine! Mushrooms can make vitamin D.

INGREDIENTS

• 125g ostrich mince
• 125g chopped and cooked Portobello mushrooms
• 5g tahini
• 2g tomato paste
• 1g garlic powder
• salt and pepper

METHOD

1. Finely chop the Portobellos and sweat them off with about a tablespoon each of olive oil and butter, with salt added early to help extract the moisture and pepper at the end. Cook the ostrich mince separately in the same way (As the moisture evaporates, the mushroom juice is concentrated and, combined with the oil and butter, it gives a sheen to the mushrooms.
2. Hand-blend the mix of ostrich mince and chopped mushrooms and shape into a burger-sized patty.
3. Toast the buns on the inside and stack as follows: baby lettuce leaves, a layer of pink sauce, 3 slices of pickled gherkin, 2 slices of melted Emmental cheese, one tablespoon of onion marmalade and then the mushroom ostrich patty on top.
4. Garnished with a rosemary spear, battered onion ring, grilled Portobello and a cherry tomato.

Venison mushroom blended burger

Wild at heart! Breakfast, braai and beyond … every meal is a mushroom meal.

MAKES 4 BURGERS

INGREDIENTS

Burgers

• 400 grams Eland Mince (80/20 fat ratio) or any preferred venison – even ostrich
• 400 grams mixed button and portobello mushrooms, finely diced
• 60ml Mrs Balls Chutney
• 1 tablespoon mixed herbs (marjoram, rosemary & sage)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 jumbo egg

To serve

• 4 Burger Buns, toasted
• Beer Battered Onion Rings
• Fig Chutney or Relish / Preserve
• Brie Cheese
• Butter Lettuce

METHOD

For the Burger Patties

1. Combine all burger patty ingredients in a large bowl and mix, ensuring spices are well distributed
2. Form 4 burger patties and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes
3. Grill burger patties (suggest medium), ensuring caramelisation on searing

Build your Burger

1. Toast ,burger buns on the grill bread side down
2. Place butter lettuce onto your toasted Burger Bun base
3. Top with Mushroom & Eland Blended Burger Patty & thin slices of Brie Cheese
4. Drizzle with Fig Chutney
5. Top Burger Bun with 3 crispy, golden beer-battered onion rings (hold in place with a skewer)
6. Best served with steakhouse-style chips tossed in rosemary salt

Chef Tebogo Molelekoa’s tips

1. Eland is one of the largest and most sought-after antelope for venison – it is a healthy and flavourful alternative to Beef with a similar texture, so great for people trying venison for the first time
2. The Brie Cheese must be thinly sliced and placed on the hot burger patty so that the cheese melts and oozes through each bite of the burger
3. You can add a little red wine or balsamic vinegar to the fig chutney or some sweet pickle to the burger if you like a little tangy crispness (cuts through the richness of the brie and the sweetness of the fig)
4. Messy but delicious – best served with an ice-cold beer and lots of serviettes

Also See: Beef and mushroom burgers

Recipes and photographs supplied by The South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association