I have no problem with vegetarians or vegetarianism (what with our weekly veg box I have actually come to embrace it this year) but have never really felt any desire to become a full-time veggie. This is partly due to a lack of imagination. I would probably eat a lot of lettuce, beans on toast and Linda McCartney sausages. Perhaps an omelette if I was feeling adventurous. I'd probably miss out on a plethora of crucial vitamins and minerals. Secondly, I have always been mildly disturbed by the way that some food manufacturers make vegetarian foods look like their meat based equivalent. I've been to Thai buffet restaurants that make tofu look like bits of chicken in a stir fry. They even pump it with some dodgy vegetarian flavourings to make it taste like the real thing.
Up to now, the vegetarian dishes I've cooked this year have all been good veggie dishes in their own right - they're not trying to pretend to be meat dishes. Maybe it's a little harsh to describe this dish in that way, but when I see a burger, I'm expecting some prime Angus steak. A bit of horse meat at least. These "happy cow burgers" contain nothing more than some blitzed beans and a handful of herbs and spices. Even so, I remain open minded and am actually presently surprised that, once mixed with a bit of flour and shaped into patties, they look and feel surprisingy like any other type of burger. In they go to the pan, and I crack on with the coleslaw and sweetcorn.
It's another dish where although there is nothing difficult about it, there are several separate components and there is a lot of chopping required, various bowls and boards and platters and the kitchen looks a state when I'm done. It would all be worth it if they tasted good, but unfortunately, they were just a little bland - pretty much what you'd expect from something which is effectively just mashed up beans. The cheese and salad and pickles make it a bit more interesting but don't really mask the lack of flavour in the burgers. The coleslaw is ok, but the dressing is missing something. Probably more than a teaspoon of mustard and more seasoning that I put in. The sweetcorn was simple and nice but overall though we were a bit disappointed. Still, at least the cows are happy.
Lolz gave the dish 6/10. Difficulty rating 3/10.
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