Tuesday, May 27, 2014

VEGETABLE QUINOA BURGERS from the Sprouted Kitchen


      3/4 cup quinoa

      1 1/3 cups broth or water
      1 small zucchini
      2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed and finely chopped
      1/4 cup olive oil
      1 large shallot or 1/2 a yellow onion, minced
      2 tsp. dried oregano
      1/2 tsp. cayenne
      2 tsp. soy sauce, tamari or Braggs aminos
      1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
      1 cup coarse ground oats or breadcrumbs
      3 Tbsp. flaxmeal
      2/3 cup mashed cooked sweet potato
      sea salt and pepper



    Rinse the quinoa in a mesh strainer. Bring the quinoa and broth or water to a boil in a pot. Turn it to a gentle simmer and cover and cook until liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked, about 13 minutes. Stir, leave the lid ajar and set aside to cool.

    While the quinoa cooks, grate the zucchini. Spread it on a kitchen towel and ring out the extra moisture.
    In a large sauté pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot or onion and sauté for 3 minutes until softened. Add the mushrooms, zucchini, generous pinches of salt and pepper and sauté another 5 minutes until cooked down and much of the liquid has been cooked out. Stir in the oregano, cayenne and soy sauce and turn the heat off to cool.

    Transfer the quinoa to a bowl, add the nutritional yeast, oats or breadcrumbs and flaxmeal. Once the vegetables are cool, add them to the bowl as well and stir everything to mix. Mash in the cooked sweet potato and another pinch of salt and pepper and stir everything to mix. If it looks super dry, add another drizzle of oil or more mashed yam, but if it is *too* wet, they won't stay together. I know we are making veggie burgers, but you want it to be the same sort of thickness or texture or ground beef or turkey, not wet.

    Heat a layer of oil in a large skillet (I find non-stick works best for delicate things like this). Make patties about 1 1/2'' thick, and cook until golden brown on each side, about 4 minutes per side. Alternatively, you may form your patties, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle a little oil on top and bake them at 375' for 20 minutes. Put your cheese on one side after you flip the patty. Prepare your buns with mashed avocado, spread, greens or whatever you wish and serve warm.

    * I overdid it on the yam and mine were very soft throughout. I find that when I do this with veggie burgers, baking helps dry them out better so they stay together better between a bun. If you're eating it plain and you want a crispy crust, pan works great, for something in a sandwich, I prefer to bake them for a sturdier result. You're preference on texture.

    Sprouted Kitchen: VEGETABLE QUINOA BURGERS

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