Chestnut and feta cheese burgers

Chestnut and feta cheese burgers

Quick and easy to make and with a grown-up twist, chestnut and feta cheese burgers are a hearty, healthy vegetarian alternative to burgers. 

Chestnut and feta cheese burger

My favourite way to eat fresh chestnuts is roasted - ideally over an open fire, as Perry Como crooned. They take me straight back to those colder autumn days - in fact, one of our favourite weekend activities when the temperatures drop is to forage for mushrooms and chestnuts. But you don't need to wait until it gets colder outside to enjoy this recipe. Although I opt for fresh vegetables whenever I can, I always have tins of pulses and veg available to prepare something quickly. Lentils, kidney beans, chick peas, tomatoes, peas, corn and chestnuts are store cupboard essentials for me. 

Chestnuts have a lovely meaty texture, so they're ideal for recipes where you want a bit of bulk. They're also sweet, making them versatile enough to use in both sweet and savoury dishes. 

I have a lovely memory of the first time I tasted a chestnut. It was a bitterly cold evening in December, and I was waiting with Mum and my brother in a long line outside the cinema. Dad had promised he was going to meet us at the cinema; usually he worked late, so evening entertainment with him was rare. A street vendor was standing next to a huge metal bin, selling food in paper cones, the delicious smell of roasted chestnuts filling the air and making my tummy rumble. The cold was biting into my fingers and toes, and I was feeling a bit miserable. The line inched forwards, it was getting colder, and there was still no sign of Dad. Mum put her arm around me and gave me a reassuring squeeze and I hid my face in the crook of her arm, trying to warm up. Just then, Dad strode up, beaming, wrapped up in his winter coat, brandishing four paper cones of sizzling chestnuts.
"Careful, they're very hot," warned Mum. 
After blowing furiously on the first chestnut and burning my fingers as I did so, I popped the nut into my mouth, closed my eyes, and melted into the most delicious taste sensation. I can't remember what film we saw, but I will always remember queuing for it.

This chestnut and feta cheese burger marries two contrasting flavours and textures - the crumbly sweetness of the chestnuts with the salty, creamy tang of the feta. Stick them on the barbecue, in the oven or fry them in a pan of olive oil, and serve with a seasonal salad. 

Chestnut and feta cheese burgers (serves 6)

Ingredients

360g cooked chestnuts, blitzed
200g feta cheese
2 medium onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

1) Blitz the chestnuts in a food processor into crumbs. Add all the other ingredients into the bowl and mix thoroughly. 
2) Cool in the fridge for 30 minutes. 
3) Form palm-sized balls of mixture and flatten them to 2cm thickness.
4) Bake in the oven at 200°C / 180° fan for approximately 35 minutes, until they are crisp and golden on the outside, turning halfway through.