Greek-Style Black Bean Burgers with Homemade Tzatziki

Why hello there! It feels good to be back and blogging again. Between moving to a new apartment in a new city and adjusting to a new job, I guess you can say things have been kind of busy – in a good way, though! Some random updates since my last post:

• Apparently vegetable peels can be dangerous. I almost cut off the tip of my thumb one night while trying to peel a butternut squash. All is fine and well now, but I did end up needing a stitch! I couldn’t peel a vegetable for weeks afterwards.
• Apparently shower doors can spontaneously explode. I wish I was making this up. Less than a month in the new place and… POOF… the glass in our shower door literally exploded into a million pieces, completely out of nowhere. Again, all is fine and well, but I’m starting to think maybe I just have bad luck!

Despite these unfortunate events, I appeared to have a stroke of luck with creating this recipe. I’ve been obsessed with Greek food the past few weeks. Imagine my delight when I came up with this tasty recipe – high in fibre, packed with protein, and made with whole grains. Yum yum! Of course, the homemade tzatziki is the icing on the cake.. or.. burger? Anyways.. enjoy!

Greek-Style Black Bean Burgers with Homemade Tzatziki

Makes 4 patties

Ingredients
Black Bean Burgers:
1/3 medium red onion, cut into wedges
1 can (15-oz.) no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
2 cloves garlic
Pinch of salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup whole grain oats (whole wheat breadcrumbs are also fine)

Homemade Tzatziki:
250 g plain Greek yogurt
1 hothouse cucumber, grated and squeezed to remove excess liquid
1-2 cloves of garlic, grated
Lemon juice, to taste
Olive oil, to taste
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1. For the burgers: Add the onion wedges to a food processor and chop. Add the black beans and pulse 3-4 times, until the beans are just partially smashed. Pour the beans and onion mixture into a bowl and mix in the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, parsley, garlic, salt and egg. Feel free to add more olive oil if the mixture seems too dry.

2. Add the oats to the food processor and chop until they look like breadcrumbs. Add to the bean mixture and stir until well-combined. Using your hands, form the mixture into 4 equally-sized patties. Stack the patties, with a piece of wax paper in between each, and place into a freezer bag or container. Freeze for at least 2 hours before cooking. Once ready, I pan fried my burger in a little bit of olive oil until the outside was brown and slightly crisp.

3. While your burger is cooking, you can prepare the tzatziki. Simply combine the yogurt, grated cucumber, grated garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt in a small bowl.

4. Top your burger with a dollop of tzatziki, along with your other preferred toppings. I had sliced avocado, baby tomatoes, and feta cheese – without the bun. DELISH!

Be Well xo