I realized yesterday that all of the meals I planned for this week were vegetarian – totally unintentionally. Well, not 100% unintentional, I suppose. I have been trying to eat less meat, especially since poultry has begun to ick me out. I even briefly considered doing a full-on 2-week vegan experiment for kicks, but, alas, cheese won out in that debate. My real goal for this week’s meal plan (a process on which I intend to do a separate post) was to cut the grocery budget a bit, and cutting meat is the best way to do that.
This black bean and quinoa burger appealed to me as soon as I saw it in its reincarnated form as quesadillas on foodgawker. I love the idea of “round 2” recipes, especially since I have less and less desire to spend an hour in the kitchen at the end of a long day.
We both really enjoyed the burgers, but since I didn’t change much about the recipe, I hesitate to post it here. BUT, then I remembered the original purpose of this blog for me – to document recipes that I would like to make again. These burgers definitely fit in that category. We served them on toasted english muffins (probably my favorite sandwich vehicle) with some cilantro-lime mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato. Avocado and sriracha would have been nice additions too.
Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers
Inspired by Bake Your Day
Makes 6 burgers / 5 ww pts+
What I used:
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 cup veggie stock
- 3 tsp. olive oil, divided
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tbsp reduced sugar ketchup (I like Trader Joe’s Organic Ketchup)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sriracha
- 1/2 – 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg white
for serving:
- english muffins/buns
- lettuce, tomato, avocado, etc.
- mayonnaise
- cheese
What I did:
- Mix the spices (paprika through black pepper) in small bowl and set aside.
- Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Cook the carrot and shallot for 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Add some stock to the pan if it gets too dry. Add the garlic and saute for another couple of minutes and remove from heat.
- Transfer the contents of the pan to a food processor. Add the beans and the spice mixture and pulse a few times until the mixture is cohesive. Don’t puree. You could also do this with a masher or a couple of forks if you don’t have a food processor.
- Transfer the contents of the food processor to a large mixing bowl. Add the ketchup, soy sauce, egg white, panko, and sriracha and combine. Make 6 patties using a heaping 1/3 cup measuring cup. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes up to a two days ahead.
- When ready to serve, heat the remaining 2 tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the burgers for 4 minutes per side and serve.
Just the Tip 