“Vegan Farm Burgers”
Also know as Butternut Squash Black Bean Burgers. Serves about 6- most folks will want a second in preparation for their siesta.
This was a great vegan and gluten-free recipe from Sprouted Kitchen. At the farm we’re experimenting with different types of squash, so I picked up a hunk of butternut squash from the Montezuma farmers’ market and saved the seeds to try out here too. I sautéed half an onion with salt and pepper, then added my cubed squash and a few tablespoons of water until it evaporated and I was able to easily mash the squash with a fork. The original recipe calls for canned pumpkin, and canned beans for that matter–both major time-savers. I soaked my beans for over 24 hours and was surprised how long they still took to boil. Another option is to prep your rice, beans and squash the day before – then you really can just “throw” it all in the food processor. (Or even prep the mixture the day before and refrigerate.) Herbs are so essential to vegetarian cooking, and since we’re already growing parsley and mint here, I added some for flavor. I ground my red chili flakes, flax seeds and oats in a coffee grinder (flax and flakes until powder, oats a little choppy); so no need to run out and buy the “flaxmeal” and “oat flour” unless you’ve got it already. Definitely use a non-stick pan or you’ll lose your nice crust.
Ingredients:
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped (Farm)
• 2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped (Farm)
• 2 tbsp parsley, fresh chopped (Farm)
• few springs mint, fresh chopped (Farm)
• ¾ cup butternut squash puree
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 ¼ tsp. sea salt
• 1 ½ tsp. cumin
• 1 ½ cup cooked and cooled brown rice
• 3 cups black beans
• 3 Tbsp. flaxmeal
• > ½ cup coarse oat flour (blend whole oats)
• Coconut oil for cooking
In a food processor, combine the garlic, scallions, herbs, squash, olive oil, chili powder, salt and cumin. A
dd the rice and half of the beans and pulse only a few times to just mix, not paste! Add the flaxmeal, oat flour and pulse it in. Add the rest of the beans and give it one or two more pulses. The mixture should be pretty tacky with texture to it. Not smooth.
Form the dough into about eight or ten patties, burger style. Watch out it’s sticky. Heat a thin layer of coconut oil over medium high heat in a large non-stick pan, working in batches if you need to. Once the oil is hot, gently add the patties to the pan and cook until brown (mine took close to 5 mins) until you get a golden crust, flip and cook another few minutes, until you’ve got a good crust. She recommends serving over greens – try using my groovy garden salad recipe.
