Hand-Formed Veggie Burgers (Pan, Oven or Air Fryer)

What is the difference between these burgers and the moulded ones? Well, if you want a finished burger with a precise shape (round, heart-shaped, bigger/smaller, ...) then the hand-formed burgers give a more defined result, but this takes more time because you actually have to shape the burgers one by one. If instead you prefer a quicker preparation, once the mixture is ready you can put it into a container, as shown in the moulded carrot burgers recipe, and refrigerate it; then when you need to cook the burgers, just take the mixture from the mould and cut the slices you need, where each slice will be a burger. Or, alternatively, you can also use it to make a vegetable bake (or vegetable and legume bake), as described in the vegetable bake recipe (link as soon as the recipe is published).

1. Ingredients

Dough

2. Method

1. Cook and dry the vegetables.
2. Boil the 400 g potatoes in their skins (20-30 minutes), peel while hot and mash. Let cool slightly: they are the binder.
3. Coarsely grate the 300 g carrots and the 250 g zucchini. Optional: lightly salt the zucchini, let drain for 10 minutes, then squeeze the carrots and zucchini hard in a tea towel to remove excess water. If you're a bit short on time you can skip this step: you'll simply cook the vegetables a few minutes longer in the pan to dry them out. Over high heat and in a large enough pan there's no risk of them sitting in liquid too long and ending up boiled instead of sautéed.
4. Make the mix.
5. Heat the 30 g olive oil in a wide pan, add the carrots and zucchini and sauté over high heat for 5-8 minutes, stirring, until they dry out, like a soffritto. Then add the mashed potatoes and the 6 g fine salt and cook a few minutes more until the mixture compacts into a dense mass (with a pan that isn't non-stick, steel or aluminium, the mixture is almost ready when it starts to stick to the bottom: the water has almost all evaporated). Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.
6. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the pepper/parsley/thyme if using and blend with an immersion blender to the texture you want (fine like a purée or coarser, to taste). Then work in the breadcrumbs (about 70 g in total) a little at a time, until you have an even, mouldable mixture, compact enough to shape into burgers.
7. Shape and rest.
8. Shape the burgers by hand (about 100 g each, 1.5-2 cm thick) and coat both sides in breadcrumbs. A 30-minute rest in the fridge before cooking makes them firmer and easier to turn, especially in the pan (not essential but recommended). At this point you can also store them in the fridge or freezer for use in the following days.
9. Cook, choose a method.
10. Pan: heat a little olive oil over medium heat and cook the burgers 3-4 minutes per side until golden and crisp. Turn gently so they don't fall apart.
11. Oven: fan oven at 190 °C (or static at 200 °C). Lay the burgers on a lined tray, drizzle oil on top, and bake 20-25 minutes, turning halfway, until golden. For thin burgers, 12-15 minutes.
12. Air fryer: preheat to 180-200 °C. Place the burgers in the basket (on perforated parchment or brushed with oil), without overlapping, and cook 15-20 minutes until the surface is golden and crisp, turning halfway. They are delicate: handle them little. At 200 °C about 15-18 minutes is enough.

3. Storage

• Refrigerator: the raw, shaped and coated burgers keep 2-3 days in the fridge, ready to cook; cooked ones 2 days.
• Freezer: freeze the raw, coated burgers laid out on a tray, then transfer to a bag once hard (so they keep their shape). Thaw in the fridge and cook as preferred, or cook from frozen adding a few minutes.

4. Technical Notes

• Why boiled mashed potatoes: they are the binding core. The starch released by the cooked potatoes compacts the mix and, once cold, holds it together without any egg or cheese. It is the base that supports the whole burger structure.
• Why squeeze the carrots and zucchini: they are watery and excess water makes the mix soft and hard to work. Salt the zucchini and grated carrots to draw out water, then squeeze them well. Better to remove the water beforehand than to end up having to add too many breadcrumbs or getting soggy burgers that fall apart when you turn them.
• Why the fridge rest before cooking: the cold firms the mix and reduces the risk of the burgers splitting during cooking. Not mandatory, but with a soft mix it helps a lot, especially for pan cooking.
• How to choose the cooking method: the pan gives the most pronounced crisp crust and the fastest cooking, but you have to turn the burger gently so it doesn't fall apart; and if you're cooking just for yourself, even if it breaks up a little it's still delicious. The oven is the most convenient for cooking many at once, cutting down on the need to turn them; with perforated baking paper you can even skip turning entirely. The air fryer is ideal for a soft mix, because it cooks faster than a conventional oven and, if the fryer's basket allows it, you can avoid turning them.
• Thickness and times: the thicker the burger, the more cooking time it needs. The times given are for burgers about 1.5-2 cm thick; for thinner ones they must be reduced, you have to judge by eye: when a crust forms on the outside and the burger is firm enough not to lose its shape when you turn it. The first few times you can cut a piece open during cooking and check inside.

Variants

• Replacing the potatoes with legumes (chickpeas, cannellini, borlotti): legumes replace potatoes about 1:1 by weight. Use them already cooked, well drained and dried, then mashed or blended to a purée. Cannellini is the most faithful in texture and creaminess; chickpeas are drier and more granular, with a slightly bolder, nutty flavour; borlotti sit in between. These are minor differences anyway: most diners will hardly notice them.
• Replacing part of the vegetables with broccoli or cauliflower: they work very well. Steam or boil them and mash with a fork, then use in place of (or alongside) the zucchini, keeping the potatoes as the binder. They give body and a bolder flavour; adjust the breadcrumbs according to how dry they turn out.
• Other vegetables that work: spinach or chard (wilted and squeezed very hard), aubergine (diced, sautéed with oil and garlic), pumpkin (as described in the hand-formed pumpkin burgers and moulded pumpkin burgers recipes), mushrooms (sautéed and well dried), peas (lightly softened and left whole for texture), peppers (roasted, peeled and squeezed). Watery vegetables must always be squeezed or pre-cooked; dry or starchy ones act as the base. The rule: the starchy base (potatoes or legumes) stays the glue, the other vegetables are the flavour and must be kept well dried.
• Flavour boost: pepper, parsley and thyme (all optional) give a flavour boost without covering the vegetables. Alternatively use chives, sage, nutmeg or, if you like them, smoked paprika and/or chilli.

5. Sources

• Cookist: which vegetables to use for veggie burgers and how to prepare them
• Tavolartegusto: pan 1.5-2 minutes per side, oven 12-15 minutes at 180 °C
• GialloZafferano (blog): air fryer at 200 °C for ~20 minutes, ideal for soft mixes
• La Cucina Italiana: potatoes bind and add substance