Beets Me Burgers
This plant-based burger is a twist on the regular bean burger. Yes, this has beans – navy beans (or sometimes referred to as white pea beans), and also rice and sweet potatoes. The twist with this burger is that it has beets which boost the nutrition and makes the colour a nice pink. The result is a deliciously crispy, soft on the inside, super healthy burger filled with wonderful nutrients and topped the way you choose! Get out your food processor and get started!
Beets are a superfood and rightly so with the nutritional and health benefit punch they provide. They contain VitC, VitA, folate, phosphate and magnesium. Beets are a heart-healthy veggie, they remove toxins, fight inflammation, are an antioxidant, help with insulin balancing, boost skin’s health, improve cognitive and physical functioning and provide great energy for the body. Both the root bulb and the leafy green tops are delicious and nutritious.
Prep Time: 10 minutes (20 minutes if you have to cook the rice and the sweet potato) / Cook time: 15 minutes / Total: 25 - 40 Minutes / Serves: 4
Ingredients:
¾ cup Cooked Rice – your choice of white or brown
½ cup Sweet Potato – cooked and mashed
1 medium Beet – peeled and cubed
¾ cup Walnuts
1 teaspoon Dried Basil
1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
½ teaspoon Turmeric
½ teaspoon Veggie Bouillon - optional
3 cloves Garlic - chopped
1 540 ml / 19 oz can Nany Beans / White Pea Beans – drained and rinsed
3 Tablespoons Water
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
Sea Salt and Pepper – to taste
¾ cup gluten-free Breadcrumbs
1/3 cup Olive Oil – for pan frying the burgers
4 gluten-free Pitas or Wraps
Tomato slices, avocado, baby spinach, hummus, onions – for toppings
How It’s Made
If you have cooked rice and mashed sweet potato already, great! If not, cook the rice as per the instructions on the package. Peel and cube the sweet potato, put in a medium size pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and boil until a knife slides through a cube, drain and mash with a potato masher or a fork.
Put the cubed beets, walnut, spices and garlic in your food processor and process quickly until coarsely chopped – 30 seconds.
Add the beans, cooked rice, mashed sweet potato, water, Dijon, to the food processor, season with salt and pepper and process until combined – you may need to add additional water – you want the mixture well combined but not wet.
Put the mixture from the food processor into a large bowl, add the bread crumbs and stir to combine.
Form into 8 patties.
In a medium non-stick frying pan/skillet, over medium heat, add the oil and allow it to get hot. Carefully add the patties to fit, but not to crowd the pan as you need to flip them and you need the space between the patties to do so. You may need to cook the patties in two batches.
Cook the patties until crisp and nicely browned on the first side – check after 5 to 6 minutes – and carefully flip the patties to cook until crisp and nicely browned on the second side – again, another 5 to 6 minutes. Add extra oil if the pan becomes too dry.
Serve in the pita, or on a bun, and top with spinach, hummus, sliced tomatoes, onions – as in the photo, or whatever you like to top your burger with!
Enjoy!
Variations:
Serve the burger without the pita or bun, on its own, with a side salad.
Top with mustard and ketchup.
Mash cooked carrots in place of the sweet potato.
