Beet Veggie Burger
Nowadays it’s more common to find veggie burgers, both in restaurants and in the supermarket. And although there are some that are ok, there are others that taste like plastic. These Beet Veggie Burgers have the perfect combination of ingredients that makes them taste delicious! And they have a lovely intense pinky color! 
At the end I bought the book Relish, I made the decision after preparing the Chai Raspberry Chia Pudding. I broke my own rule of first trying out at least three recipes before buying a cookbook. The pudding tasted sooo good! These veggie burgers caught my attention immediately, especially because Daphne ensures that even a carnivore likes them. 
Like most veggie burgers, they called for a lot of ingredients. Honestly they are not quick to prepare, you need enough time to make them. But when you have a bite of the burger, they taste so good that you know it was time well spent. I knew that the recipe was big for two persons, but I decided to make it complete so I could refrigerate the leftovers and have food for another day. 
Whenever I make beef burgers, I like to prepare the mixture one day ahead. I just keep it in an air-tight container and let it refrigerate overnight. The next day I make the patties and fry them in a skillet. I think that extra storage time, intensifies the flavor. For these veggie burgers I followed the same method. 
When I prepared a dish with a lot of ingredients, before I start cooking, I like to separate the ingredients that go together in separate bowls. That way I make sure that I don’t forget to add an ingredient. That’s the method I share with you. 
I love beets! So this was the perfect recipe for me to make. They keep telling us that a healthy meal is the one that has a lot of colors in it, especially if they are bright colors. I am sure these veggie burgers meet the requirements for a healthy dish.
- 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon umeboshi paste
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 chipotle, finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce from the chipotle
- 3 prunes, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Leaves from 3 thyme sprigs
- ¼ cup almonds, toasted
- ½ cup oats
- 1 cup cooked brown rice (preferably one day old)
- 2 Tablespoon fine breadcrumbs
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium beets, raw, peeled and grated
- 1 medium zucchini, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
- 1 egg, whisked
- In a medium bowl mix the black beans, umeboshi paste, balsamic vinegar, lime juice, chipotle and adobo sauce. With a fork you can crush some of the beans so they don’t end whole in the patties. Reserve.
- In a small bowl mix the prunes with the salt, cumin and thyme leaves. Reserve.
- Using a food processor, pulse the almonds until you have a fine flour consistency. (Not too much or you will end with almond butter). Remove the almond flour, and pulse the oats. In a medium bowl mix together the almond flour, oat flour, brown rice and breadcrumbs. Reserve.
- In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, sauté for 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the beet, zucchini and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the bean mixture and mix well. Next, add the prunes mixture and mix well. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
- Transfer to a large bowl, preferably with a lid, and mix with the rice and almond-oat flour. Add the egg and incorporate. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove from the refrigerator. Form patties approximately 1/3 cup each.
- Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet, place the patties and cook for 3 minutes. Flip, cover and cook for 3 more minutes or until they have a browned surface.
- Enjoy!
- I recommend that you serve these veggie burgers on whole wheat buns, with lettuce, tomato slices and your prefer condiments.
