16 | April | 2012 | Twin Taste

With the spring season upon us and summer approaching quickly, I wanted to make sure you are all equipped with a fabulous burger option that does not include meat! I am going to have to toot my own horn a little bit here and say that this recipe turned out pretty great. I find myself grabbing little, okay not so little, bites from my leftovers nearly every time I open my fridge.

One great thing about meatless burgers compared to the alternative is they are so much healthier with ZERO cholesterol! This burger specifically is packed with heart healthy fats and lean protein to keep you full and your ticker running properly. It also has plenty of flax that supplies you with omega 3’s to fight that belly fat. There are plenty more benefits to this easy swap but I can feel the anxiety building through the computer as you wait for me to provide you with this super burger, so let’s get right to it!

Almond Encrusted Beet Burgers

~ 12 Burgers

½ cup Canned/Cooked Beets
1 cup Shredded Carrots
½ cup Navy Beans
2Tbs Beet Juice (from the can)
2 Tbs Lemon Juice (about 1 small lemon)
½-3/4 tsp Salt + ½ tsp for crust
¼ tsp Tarragon
¼ tsp Marjoram
2 Tbs Fresh Orange Juice (1/2 small orange)
¼ cup Milled Flax Seed
1/3 cup Almonds + ½ cup for crust
1 Tbs Tomato Paste
2 Tbs Nutritional Yeast + ¼ cup for crust
½ Onion finely chopped
2 tsp Garlic finely minced
1 tsp Liquid Smoke
1 Tbs Yellow Mustard
2/3 cup Garbanzo Flour
¼ cup Sunflower Seeds
2 Flax Eggs (2Tbs milled flax seed + 6Tbs almond milk)
Oil or Smart Balance

Toss the carrots with the lemon juice and set aside. Place 1/3 cup of almonds in a coffee grinder or food processor and chop until the almonds are very fine and begin to clump together then set aside. Place beets, navy beans, and beet juice in a food processor and process until combined well. Add salt, tarragon, marjoram, orange juice, flax seed, and chopped almonds in the processor and pulse once again until combined. Next add the tomato paste and nutritional yeast until combined. Transfer the bean paste to a medium sized bowl and stir in carrots, onions, garlic, liquid smoke, and mustard. Once combined slowly add the garbanzo flour until you get a thick but not dry dough then add the sunflower seeds. Place saran wrap over the bowl and refrigerate for about two hours. Once the dough has chilled *form it into about 12 patties and return to the refrigerator.

Once patties are firm (I let mine chill for an additional 4 hours) mix the flax eggs and set aside. Grind the remaining almonds (1/2 cup) until fine but not to the point of clumping. Combine the almonds with the nutritional yeast and salt, place the mixture on a plate or flat surface and set aside. Preheat a cast iron skillet on the burner over medium heat with your choice of **oil or butter.

Once the pan is hot use your hands to first dip the burgers in the flax egg then coat in the almond crust mixture. Add more oil or butter as needed then place the patty in the pan and cover. After the first side has browned and the patty has heated flip and brown the other side uncovered.

Remove from heat and add your toppings! I used avocado, onion, spinach, beets, pickles, and a little bit of veganaise (vegan mayo,) ketchup, and mustard. The avocado is very highly recommended 🙂

*While watching The Chew the other day I learned a nifty trick for forming uniform patties and all you need is a lid from a jar and some saran wrap! See the pics below for more info.

**I tried quite a few ways of cooking these burgers and I have to say the best was fried in a modest amount of Smart Balance. Another possibility could be baking them but I do not have the specificities on how to do it so feel free to play around and let me know how it tastes!

The shredded carrots really help to make this a low-cal meal option by bulking up the recipe.