Crispy Quinoa Burgers

Hi! Today I have another vegetarian burger recipe that passes the test of holding up well, and passing the meat-lover's test. Let me start by saying I have never cooked with quinoa, let alone even tried quinoa. I was a little intimated by the thought of it, but these burgers turned out wonderfully. They're pan-fried in a touch of oil, and smushed flat in the pan to get as much surface browning and crust as possible. These burgers are flavorful and hold together really well. I am now in love with quinoa!

Crispy Quinoa Burgers
Author: Herbivore Haven, Adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Makes: 4-5 burgers

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked red quinoa
• 1 cup cannellini beans, mashed
• 1/2- 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoons olive oil, for cooking

Directions:

1. Cook the quinoa per package instructions. In the meantime, in a large bowl, mash the cannellini beans with a fork. Add to the same bowl the cooked quinoa, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine the ingredients.
2. Wet hands and form the mixture into 4 or 5 equal burger patties.
3. In a skillet, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place the quinoa burgers in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until golden and crisp, about five minutes per side. In the last minute or so of cooking add a bit cheese (any kind you prefer, optional). Cover the pan and cook an extra 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. The burgers should hold up well and be easy to flip.
4. Put the cooked patties on your favorite buns, top with your favorite condiments and enjoy!

Notes: I made my own bread crumbs, like I did with the black bean burgers. This time, I used whole wheat bread that I crumbled with my fingers. I set the oven to 300 degrees to toast the bread crumbs. I put the crumbles of bread onto a baking sheet and set them in the oven for about 5 minutes. It shouldn't take much longer than 5 minutes to toast the bread crumbs.

I also doubled the quinoa burger recipe and chose to freeze the leftover patties, without cooking them, following the same freezing method I used with the black bean burgers. Wrap each patty individually in parchment paper and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place the patties on the baking sheet in the refrigerator, giving them time to set up a bit before you put them in the freezer. After a few hours or so, remove the patties from the refrigerator, and put the patties in single layers in a freezer bag. Freeze some for a quick, easy meal later!

To cook frozen patties: Remove each patty from the parchment paper. Place a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a splash of olive oil and cook the patties for about 6-8 minutes each side. Put on your favorite bun, top with your favorite condiments and enjoy!

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Black Bean Burgers

Happy Monday! Let's get right to the point. Sometimes it's hard to make a black bean burger that not only holds up well, but passes the test of a meat eater. In my opinion, in vegetarian recipes, it's all about "beefing up" the flavor to make it just as good, (most of the time better!) than recipes with meat. This black bean burger passes that test! They aren't bland at all, and they hold up very well!

The black bean burger recipe I'm sharing today is the basics of a black bean burger. Vegetarian burgers are nice because you can really add just about anything you want. Next time I make this one, I want to try adding grated carrots, BBQ sauce, and a few other herbs. Bean burgers are sometimes a little hard to work with when it comes to shaping them into patties and the patties actually holding up. That's where the bread crumbs and eggs come in. Of course, you can substitute the eggs for a flax egg (flax seed and water mixture) to make them vegan.

This recipe is perfect if you want to freeze the burgers for later on. All you do is wrap each uncooked patty individually in foil and pop them in a freezer bag. And, of course, you can cook them immediately!

Black Bean Burgers
Author: Herbivore Haven
Makes: 8 patties

Ingredients:

• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons fresh green onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs*
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 eggs (or flax eggs)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• oil for cooking

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mash the rinsed and drained black beans with a fork. Add to the bowl the cumin, green onions, garlic, salt, black pepper, salt, tablespoon of oil, eggs, cayenne pepper and cilantro. Mix together all ingredients until the mixture is creamy with just a few small pieces.
2. Stir in the bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky. You may need to add just over 1 1/2 cup to get the sticky consistency. The mixture should stick to the back of the spoon. *For the bread crumbs, I used stale bread crumbles.
3. Wet hands and form patties. You should get about 8 patties out of the mixture.

To freeze: Wrap each patty individually with parchment paper and place on a cookie sheet. Set the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about an hour. After doing so, place the patties in a freezer bag, and place in the freezer. Leave the cooking instructions close by!

To cook: Place a skillet over medium high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet. If the patties are fresh, fry each patty for 3-4 minutes per side. If the patties are frozen, fry each patty for 6-8 minutes per side. Top with fresh vegetables and mayonnaise and enjoy!

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