Chef Demo: The Perfect Mushroom Burger

From setting up his mise en place to plating his dish, Ian Thompson is deliberate and precise. That precision carries over to his food: chickpea fries with angles so perfect you could teach a geometry class with them. And Thompson’s mushroom burger has flavors so right-on and complex, it could teach other veggie burgers a lesson.

Too often, veggie burgers are pasty, dry…just a poor substitute in general for a good old 80/20 percent-fat beef patty. Not so here, at Radius, the fine dining restaurant on the campus of Judson Smart Living, a CCRC in Chagrin Falls, OH, where Thompson has been executive chef since last year.

This veggie burger is juicy and meaty, like all great burgers. It even has the all-important crust on the outside of the patty that burger-junkies seek out. The texture owes its meatiness to a combination of ingredients, including mashed potato, which takes the burger into croquette territory—in a good way.

Thompson mashes the potato with a rice mill, hauling it out reverently.

Step 1: Quarter half the mushrooms and leave the others whole. The whole ones are roasted and the quartered ones will add texture to the burger.

Step 2: Saute the quartered mushrooms with fresh rosemary in a hot pan with oil.

Step 3: Boil and drain the peeled potatoes.

Step 4: Put the potatoes through a potato ricer. This gives the patties body and a definite burger-like consistency along with the mushrooms.

Step 5: Make a puree with half of the mushrooms, eggs, sherry and fresh herbs.

Step 6: Use the base for the hand-formed patties with panko.

Step 7: Top with pickled onions, Swiss cheese and arugula. Serve Harissa (North African chile spice blend) aioli and chickpea fries on the side.