Supermarket Surprise

My latest find at Carrefour, a treasure trove of edible mysteries.

I popped over to the giant Carrefour market after French class on Thursday with one thing on my shopping list: Earl Grey tea. On the right side of the tea aisle sit rows of boxes and canisters of my favorite beverage; the left side is dedicated to all things "bio," or as we anglophones like to call it, "organic stuff."

On the shelf just above the chocolate-covered rice cakes, my eyes were drawn to a low-fi brown box with the words "Galette de Soja" on it. I was intrigued. I reached for the Mediterranean flavor (plain-sounding "vegetable recipe" burgers were the other possibility), flipped the package over and scanned the ingredients list--soy, eggplant, millet, olives--and discovered they were vegan. In my basket they went.

Vegan-approved ingredients list.

The burgers don't need to be refrigerated, which  seems a little creepy to me. 

I made them for dinner that night, following the cooking directions and baking them in the oven for 8 minutes. (It was also suggested that I could fry them.) They were OK. Not fabulous, but pretty good. The texture was ... soft and occasionally chewy, rather than totally firm like a Boca or Gardenburger patty. Jeff thought they were the best thing since ... Tofurky, maybe. "I wonder if you can cook these in the microwave?" he asked, and I could see he was imagining all the different burger possibilities for lunch next week. (Microwaving was not one of the cooking methods printed on the box.)

My burger tasted pretty OK with a bit of salad and a side of  beans.

Would I give them another shot? Sure. Maybe sandwiched between two pieces of baguette, with a slice of tomato and some lettuce, too. And fries. Lots and lots of fries.