It’s a great culinary oxymoron: the vegetable burger.

It resembles a beef burger only in shape and size and in the fact that you can eat it on a bun, dress it up with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles, and eat it out of hand. But it’s a different animal (pun intended) altogether. If you make it right, you will not even be tempted to compare it to beef. A good veggie burger tastes great on its own terms.

By now, you have gathered, we must exclude from our discussion 99 percent of the frozen veggie burgers sold in the supermarket. They will do in a pinch, but they taste pretty much like cakes of compressed Styrofoam peanuts.

My mission to find the perfect veggie burger began at least eight years ago, when my older daughter announced that she would no longer eat meat. I responded to this information by cooking dinner as usual, and microwaving a veggie burger for her to eat in place of whatever animal protein the rest of us were having. This, I finally realized, was not terribly “inclusive,” so I worked on developing a repertoire of vegetarian main courses that we all enjoyed. But the recipe for a great veggie burger eluded me.

I just found one in a new book called “The Summertime Anytime Cookbook” by Dana Slatkin (Clarkson Potter, 2008), owner of Shutters on the Beach, a Santa Monica, Calif., hotel. This burger is tasty and terrific, but it comes with a warning: It does not hold together well. Do not even think of trying to cook it on a grill. I have gone through several experimentations with little luck. The reason I keep persisting is that my younger daughter — who joined her sister in her vegetarian ways — loves this burger, as do we all.

The second recipe is also very tasty, with a really nice amount of spicy heat, and comes from “Burgers” by Sally Sampson, part of the “Recipe of the Week” collection from Wiley (2008). This is less labor-intensive and sticks together better. The only problem with this recipe is that it is the designated burger for week 23, and by the time one pages through the juicy-looking beef, lamb, turkey and pork offerings, the non-vegetarian gets a powerful hankering for meat.

SHUTTERS’ VEGETARIAN BURGER

For the sauce:

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons molasses

For the burgers:

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained

2 cups cooked, cooled brown rice

1 tablespoon oat bran or wheat germ

2 tablespoons minced onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons finely chopped canned beets

1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for cooking

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large egg white, beaten with a fork

6 slices Monterey jack or sharp Cheddar cheese (optional)

For serving:

6 whole-grain or sprouted-wheat buns

shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, pickles

In a small bowl, mix all of the sauce ingredients, stirring until smooth. This makes twice as much as called for in the recipe, because we liked to use it in place of ketchup when serving. If you prefer ketchup or another topping, halve this recipe. Set aside. (If you are refrigerating the burger mix, refrigerate the sauce as well.)

In a large bowl, mash the beans with a potato masher or fork. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the sauce. Stir in the remaining burger ingredients, mixing well before adding the egg whites. If you have time, cover and chill this mixture for several hours or overnight. This helps the burgers stick together, but not enough to prevent you from cooking them immediately if you don’t have the time to chill them.

Form into 6 patties each about 1 inch thick. Brush generously with some of the remaining sauce.

Preheat the oven to its lowest setting. Cover the bottom of a large, nonstick or cast-iron skillet with a film of oil, and heat over medium-high heat until quite hot. Gently place the patties on the skillet (do not crowd; work in batches if you don’t have room) and cook about 4 minutes. Carefully flip the burgers and cook 4 minutes more. If using, place a slice of cheese on top of each burger, cover the skillet (use a cookie sheet if you don’t have a lid), reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Carefully transfer the burgers to a platter and keep warm in the oven.

Split the buns and put them, cut side down, in the skillet to toast. Place the burgers on the buns and serve with garnishes and remaining sauce, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

Recipe from “The Summertime Anytime Cookbook” by Dana Slatkin (Clarkson Potter, 2008)

SPICY BLACK-BEAN     BURGERS

4 cups cooked or canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

2 large eggs

4 scallions, both white and green parts minced

3 tablespoons chopped basil or cilantro, or a combination

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin

1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 to 2 teaspoons hot red-pepper flakes

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For serving:

4 split buns

tomato, lettuce, sliced onion, fresh basil leaves or other condiments of your choice

Place 2 cups of the black beans in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until chunky. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the remaining whole black beans and the remaining ingredients except the salt and pepper.

Divide the mixture into 4 portions and form each into a patty about 1 inch thick, tossing it gently back and forth between your hands. Season generously with salt and pepper. Place a cast-iron skillet over high heat, and when it is hot but not smoking, add the burgers. (If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, use a bit of cooking spray so the burgers won’t stick.) Sear 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Serve immediately on buns, with garnishes of your choice.

Yield: 4 servings

Recipe from “Burgers” by Sally Sampson (Wiley, 2008)

GRILLING RECIPE CONTEST REMINDER: To enter, submit your own original recipe for a Grilled Main Course, your name, postal mail and e-mail addresses and phone number to: grillcontest@gmail.com. Recipes submitted must: 1) be original (not previously published in any medium); 2) be received by midnight, Eastern Daylight Time, June 15, 2008; 3) consist of a recipe for a grilled main-course dish that can be done on an outdoor gas or charcoal grill; 4) specify method of grilling (direct or indirect) and level of heat (low, medium, etc.); and 5) serve four to six people. The first-place winner will have his or her recipe published, with his or her name, hometown and a brief personal interview, in this column. Winners will be judged on the basis of taste, appearance, creativity and ease of preparation. Each of these criteria will be weighted equally.

 

Marialisa Calta is the author of “Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family” (Perigee, 2005). For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com.