Southwest Veggie Burgers

I know, it’s yet another veggie burger recipe, but this one was delish and super healthy – brown rice, black beans, sweet potato… mmm. Did I mention it’s also vegan?? It was inspired by a recipe I found on my Whole Foods app! I will warn you that although tasty, these burgers don’t hold together very well when you flip them. I just reshaped them a bit after flipping them and they turned out just fine :)

Southwest Veggie Burgers

Yields 4 large patties

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 cup no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato

1/4 cup diced tomato

1/4 cup diced bell pepper

1/4 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (unfortunately we didn’t have any fresh, so I had to used dried)

2 tbsp finely chopped onion (original recipe called for 3 green onions)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp no-salt-added chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

Pinch of red chili flakes

Dash of pepper

1 tbsp lime juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Cook the rice according to instructions.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Form the mixture into 4 large patties. Place on the baking sheet and bake, turning halfway through cooking, until browned and slightly crisp on the outside (about 30 minutes).

3. Serve on a whole grain bun with your favourite toppings! I had guacamole and salsa on top of mine with a little bit of cheese, and it was absolutely delightful.

Enjoy! :)

Meatless Monday: Asian-Inspired Quinoa Veggie Burgers

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, folks! I was out of town on the weekend visiting some friends, plus school is started to get the best of me. Only 3 more weeks…

Since today is Meatless Monday, I was feeling inspired and decided I needed to try a new recipe. While browsing through Pinterest earlier today I stumbled across this tasty dish. It was part of an article in the New York Times. Since I was only making enough for myself, I cut the recipe in half. Click here to see the original recipe.

Asian-Inspired Quinoa Veggie Burgers

 

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 tbsp canola or olive oil

3 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin

1/2 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup finely chopped arugula

1/2 of a 15-ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 to 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 egg white (optional)

Soy sauce, to taste (optional)

Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the cooked quinoa in a large bowl.

2. Heat half of the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy skillet and add the mushrooms. Cook, without stirring, for 1 minute, and then stir until the mushrooms begin to soften. Add the ginger, garlic and a pinch of salt (if you wish) and continue to cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl with the quinoa. Stir in the red pepper, cilantro and arugula.

3. In a food processor, purée the white beans with the lime juice and, if using, the egg. Add to the quinoa mixture and stir everything together. Season to taste with a splash of soy sauce or salt and pepper.

4. Begin heating a heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Moisten your hands lightly and shape the quinoa mixture into patties (mine were about the size of my palm and around 2-3 cm thick). Add the remaining oil to the pan and, working in batches if necessary, cook the patties for 2-3 minutes on one side, until nicely browned. Carefully turn over and place the skillet in the oven. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the patties are lightly browned and don’t fall apart. Remove from the heat and serve with a fresh, green salad or on a toasted bun.

Tonight I enjoyed my burgers with a fresh salad! Just some mixed greens, cranberries, and pecans drizzled with homemade grapefruit salad dressing. Here’s a rough recipe (I just kind of threw it together without measuring):

Grapefruit Salad Dressing

1 tbsp olive oil

5 tbsp freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

1 tsp grapefruit zest

1 tbsp finely chopped herbs, such as basil or cilantro

Pinch of pepper

Simple whisk everything together and drizzle a little bit over your salad!

Happy Meatless Monday! :)

Meatless Monday: Homemade Veggie Burgers

There is no better way to enjoy the beginnings of spring weather than by barbecuing! And perhaps enjoying an ice-cold beer… mmm. Therefore, it is only appropriate that this week’s Meatless Monday recipe be for tasty meat-free burgers! This is my second time trying this recipe, and I made a couple of small changes to better satisfy my taste buds. I also nearly burned my house down in the process. I popped my burger bun in the oven for a couple of minutes to toast it… and then forgot about it… and then remembered it was there when I heard my mom screaming, “SOMETHING’S ON FIRE!”

My bad.

The good news is the burger itself was not harmed. Unlike some other burger recipes, this one does not require any egg, so it is entirely vegetarian-friendly! With time I will eventually tweak this recipe to perfection.

Homemade Veggie Burgers

Ingredients:

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 tbsp olive oil

3 cups sliced mushrooms (I used a combination of mushrooms and carrots this time)

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 19oz can lentils, rinsed and drained (black beans could also  be used – I will try this next time!)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp thyme (I used hamburger seasoning that I found in the cupboard)

Pepper, to taste

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (preferably whole wheat)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (this time I switched it up and used cilantro instead… so good!)

Directions:

1. Toast the nuts in a large skillet over medium heat for 5-7 minutes and then set aside. Add the olive oil to the skillet and saute the vegetables (mushrooms and onion, or whatever else you decide to use) and garlic for a few minutes, until soft.

2. Put the vegetables through a food processor, along with the nuts, lentils, Worcestershire, thyme, pepper, and parsley/cilantro. Pulse until the mixture is well blended. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the bread crumbs.

3. Shape the mixture into patties and fry them in a little bit of olive oil over medium heat. Cook until they are golden and crusty on both sides. If you are making these ahead of time, simply freeze the patties until ready for use (separate each one with a sheet of wax paper so that they don’t freeze all stuck together).

4. Serve the burgers on whole wheat or whole grain buns with whatever toppings you like! Tonight I used a bit of goat cheese, some fresh salsa, and spinach. Om nom nom :)

AND, I even treated myself to dessert tonight. Why? To celebrate! I recently was asked to do a guest blog entry for Sun Life’s blog, BrighterLife. Stay tuned for more info!

Happy Meatless Monday!

- Be Well xo