It's the middle of winter in the Southern Hemisphere and root vegetables are gloriously abundant! What better way to celebrate the vibrantly beautiful beet than with this burger. And black beans are wonderful for your health in winter - if you read The Importance of Hibernation in Winter, Amanda from Auricfields Kinesiology spoke about Winter being associated with the kidneys in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Black beans, and most black foods for that matter, support and nourish, strengthen and protect the kidneys so this is a perfect winter meal.
Eating seasonally not only gives you the best flavours but also the best nutrients from the food
This recipe took a while to get right, I was never happy with the consistency. There's nothing worse than picking up a burger, taking a bite and the whole thing just smooshes all over the place. I find that often with beetroot burgers, they're just too soft. Finally I tried baking them in the oven, rather than panfrying and who would have thunk it SUCCESS!
Crusty on the outside, firm yet still soft on the inside, these burgers will entice you with their vibrancy and earthiness
I love to serve this on a slice of my Buckwheat Bread, but for those of you who can eat deliciously soft rolls or bread fresh from the bakery (lucky you!) it would be delicious on anything that takes your fancy! It doesn't need much else as the burger itself is full of goodness...a splattering of organic dijon mustard, some fresh leaves, tomato and topped with pickled cucumber - or any pickles for that matter, I usually have a jar of homemade pickles in the fridge so whatever pickles tickles you!
This recipe makes 6 burgers - 2 are good for dinner or 1 for lunch/snack
Ingredients:
1 medium beetroot
1 tin of organic black beans
1 cup besan (chickpea) flour
2 medium mushrooms (shiitake are delicious in this) roughly chopped
1/2 onion or 1/3 of a leek roughly chopped
Handful of fresh herbs - parsley, basil, dill, thyme, chives. Whatever you have to hand and love!
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp caraway (optional but recommended!)
Generous pinch Celtic salt
Black pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C
Using the grating attachment of your food processor, grate the beetroot
Replace the grater with the blending blade and, keeping the beetroot in the processor, add all other ingredients
Blend until the onion and mushrooms are in small pieces
Line a baking tray with parchment
Using your 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out the mixture and place on the tray
You should get 8 patties from this mixture. Once all on the tray, tuck the edges in and flatten slightly. The baking doesn't change the shape, the patties won't rise, so keep that in mind while shaping
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, this will give a firm consistency
Serve on your favourite bread or rolls, with fresh salad and pickles
Any leftovers keeps well in the fridge for a few days and is also delicious cold
Enjoy!
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