I guess you could call them burgers. Rissoles. Delicious. Or all of the above!
I wasn't feeling well last week and made myself some pumpkin soup thanks to the advice from Jessica S. That got me thinking a little bit about pumpkin and whether I could do something a little bit different with it. In particular, because it's deep summer here in Australia, I was looking something that would work on a barbecue. Something that would be filling and interesting and itself, yet also go with summery salads and salsas. This is actually the first version and I'm very happy with it; I hope you'll try it. I had the leftover ones in a burger bun with tomato, dill pickles and radicchio (snobby Italian lettuce) and they were great :-)

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked steamed or roasted pumpkin (summer squash for my American friends)
• 1 Tbs chia seeds & 2 Tbs water
• 2 Tbs tahini
• 1 spring onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 Tbs parsley
• 1/2 cup wholemeal flour
• 1/2 cup quick or rolled oats
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• about 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Method

1. Mash the pumpkin in a bowl until it's soft. The pumpkin that is.
2. Add the 1 Tbs chia seeds and 2 Tbs each of water and tahini. Stir well and let sit while you do some chopping.
3. Finely chop the spring onion and mince the clove of garlic and a tablespoon of parsley. Add to the bowl and stir through the mixture.
4. Measure 1/2 cup each of wholemeal flour and quick oats into the bowl.
5. Add the seasonings: salt and pepper to taste and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. A little cayenne goes well if you like heat.
6. Stir well then refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
7. Divide mixture into 6 balls. Rolls each in breadcrumbs and flatten into a patty. Lightly pan-fry on both sides until golden.
8. Serve with a fresh tomato and onion salsa, or the salsa of your choice: vegan tzatziki, tomatillo, artichoke and olive, etc.

Time: 30 mins
Makes: 6 patties
Gluten-free: swap the wholemeal wheat flour for buckwheat flour (which, despite the name, is not related to wheat). And try rolling cornmeal or almond meal instead of breadcrumbs. Good to go!
Low-fat: Go for the grill option or use a non-stick pan with no oil.
Variations: add some fresh garden peas for little pops of extra flavour in the burger.

This burger was demonstrated at the Sustainable Living Festival in Hobart on Sat 9 November. It holds together beautifully and is a chewy, wholesome burger for winter or summer.

Ingredients
1 medium potato
1 Tbs olive oil
200g mushrooms (any)
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup barley (cooked)
seasoning to taste, say 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper
Method
1. Steam potato until tender. Mash with a fork until reasonably smooth.
2. Chop mushrooms roughly. Preheat oven to 190C.
3. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan and heat. Sautee mushrooms until they begin to sweat. Add thyme and cook a little longer until the liquid has dried up.
4. Meanwhile measure the cooked barley into a medium-sized bowl. Add the salt and pepper. Add the mashed potato.
5. When the mushrooms are ready, put them in a blender with 1 teaspoon of cider vinegar and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add them to the other ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir until they are well combined.
6. Lightly grease a frying pan and heat. Shape the burger mix into four medium-sized patties and fry approximately 3 minutes per side until golden.
7. Transfer to a baking tray and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until the burgers are firm and cooked through. Serve with condiments of your choice!

Servings: 4 medium-sized burgers
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

At the SLF I also used a small amount of minced black truffle and some truffle-infused olive oil to give it some added depth.