It's summer and burgers are popular among carnivores but you don't need to eat meat to enjoy this heavenly patty.  If you've never made a veggie burger before let me tell you something I've learned from experience- you cannot mess this up! I could pretend that I'm creating something miraculous here but seriously, all you need to do is shape some pureed veggies into a round shape that will fit on a bun.  This is the first time I've ever used string beans (if you are like me, you might have though- what in the world am I going to do with all these string beans!!) and zucchini/squash to make a burger but that's what we got so I figured what the heck, I'll give it a shot and see what happens. By the way, that's my approach to trying a lot things :-)  

One more thing before you get started....sorry, but this burger (and most veggie burgers) do not do well on the grill- they just don't stay together. You could put them on a veggie grill tray on the grill or cook them in a pan on the stove.  The natural juices of the veggies & pureed squash will keep this together along with the chilled rice or quinoa- make sure you chill the rice/quinoa before adding it to the burger- otherwise it will not stick as well. Also, make a bunch- they freeze well!

The photo is of my creation but I was so focused on eating it I forgot to take a picture of it on the bun with all the dressings!  So after I ate I remembered and took a photo of a patty before cooking.
This recipe makes 6 burgers.  

What you'll use from your bag:

• Summer Squash (at least 1 cup cut coarsely in chunks)
• String beans (fist full)
• Onion (1/4 of a medium size onion, chopped)
• Garlic (2 cloves, chopped)
• Leeks (1/4 cup chopped-optional, if you have any left from last week)
• Beets (1/2 cup pureed -optional, if you have any left from last week)
• Turnips (1- optional, if you have any left from last week)
• Tomato (to put on top)
• Cucumber (to put on top)

What else you'll need:

• Quinoa or Brown Rice (1/2 cup, cooked & chilled)
• Burger Buns
• Any other dressings you like for your burgers- I like avacado, sprouts, & spicy brown mustard
• Olive Oil  (splash)
• Salt & Pepper to taste

First, Prepare:

• Cook the quinoa or rice and chill it immediately- put it in the freezer to speed it up if you are trying to do this in one shot
• Saute the garlic, onion, and leeks (if using) in a pan with a splash of olive oil- remove & set aside in a medium mixing bowl

Then, puree:

• Puree the squash until it is smooth, put in the bowl with the garlic/onion saute
• Puree the string beans, beets, & turnips (if using)
• Puree the cold rice or quinoa and add to the bowl
• Combine everything together with your hands and form into patties
• Season with salt & pepper if you like

Finally, Cook:

• Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan and add your burgers, cook a few minutes on low/medium heat (if the heat is too high all the little particles of veggies & quinoa will burn.) Be a little gentle when flipping- if then ends fall part, they can easily be formed back together with your spatula :)
• Serve on toasted buns with your cucumber, tomato, and whatever else you are using.
• Enjoy!

Namaste

Because we had some left over quinoa from dinner the night before I thought I’d try a new burger recipe.  Marty loves burgers.  I’m fairly certain I could make anything shaped like a burger and Marty would think it was great.  This one did come out good plus it was really easy and it’s on “Marty’s Picks.”  A winner all around!


 

What you’ll need:
-1 ½ cups cooked (or soaked/sprouted) black beans (if you use canned ones be sure to drain & rinse them first)
-2 medium sized carrots (peeled)
-1/2 medium red bell pepper
-1/2 cup cooked quinoa
-1/4 cup fine bread crumbs
-1/2 tsp. cumin
-1/4 tsp. coriander
-1/4 tsp. ground ginger
-1/4 tsp. cayenne
-salt & pepper to taste

Serve on rolls with lettuce, tomato, avocado and whatever condiments you
like.

What’s Next:
-Put the cooked black beans in a medium sized bowl and mash them up some with a hand masher- they don’t need to be completely mashed
-In a food processor, pulse chop up the carrots and red pepper together until they are in small pieces
-Add the carrots, red pepper, quinoa, and bread crumbs to the bowl with the beans and combine
-In a small bowl mix all the spices together then distribute evenly in the bowl with the beans, ect..
-Combine everything together using your hands, then form into patties

-If saving for later, wrap the burgers in parchment paper and place in a zip lock bag in the fridge
-For cooking, heat a pan over medium/high heat with a splash of oil.  Or broil in the oven
-Cook burgers for 2-3 minutes on each side and serve while hot

*Makes 4 Marty size burgers*

You can find this dish on “Marty’s picks” list.  I’ve made many different vegan burgers and there are so many we really like and any one of them would probably be on the favorites list because Marty loves burgers.  This one is sooo easy to make and inexpensive with accessible ingredients unlike many other burger recipes I’ve made.  This recipe is not really grill worthy- I’ve tried to grill them and it didn’t work as well.  If you do want to grill them leave out the corn meal.

Big Butter Bean Burger

Ingredients:
• 2 ½ Cups cooked butter beans
• ½ Cup roughly chopped raw carrots
• 1 Raw bell pepper chopped (any color you like)
• 1 Cup bread crumbs or 10 crushed and crumbed vegan crackers
• 1  Raw jalapeno chopped (optional)
• 1/8 Cup Nutritional Yeast (optional)
• Corn Meal (optional, it makes the outside a bit crispy and quite tasty)
• Olive Oil
• Burger Buns

How it happens:
Mash up the butter beans with a hand masher or big fork.  Sprinkle in chopped carrots, bell pepper, and jalapeno.  Stir to incorporate.  Stir in bread crumbs and nutritional yeast.  Form mixture into patties any size you like.  Wrap any burgers you won’t be using for this meal and put them in the freezer or fridge to use later. Add enough olive oil into your pan to coat the pan; heat on medium heat.  Sprinkle some corn meal on a plate and place your patties in the corn meal to coat on both sides.  Once the oil is heated gently place your patties in the pan and cook about 3 minutes on each side with the lid closed.  During the last minute of cooking I put the sliced buns in the pan over the burgers and close the lid.

I’m sort of into presentation and we like our burgers with stuff.  But you can do whatever you like.  I commonly use sprouts, avocado, pickles, tomatoes, and some spicy mustard.  That’s good stuff!


**Recipe makes 6 Marty acceptable size burgers**