Quinoa Burger

I LOVE Quinoa!!! I liked it from the first taste a few years ago, but didn't quite know what to do with it. Then I finally figured out you could basically sub it out for lettuce in a salad and toss with French Vinaigrette, and that power salad sustained me through a year of breastfeeding my son. Fast forward a year and I sign up for Pintrest, and the first thing I see is a recipe for Quinoa burgers. Oh yum.

These versatile 'burgers' are so easy to make, and you can sub out ingredients fairly easily, to use whatever you have on hand. They are so flavorful and healthful, and a fun alternative to your run of the mill burger. Even my husband loved them (I assume he wasn't just humoring me).

Try them!

What's in it
1 C uncooked quinoa (I use red), rinsed
2 C chicken or veggie stock, or water
1 C cooked chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), chopped
1/2 C grated cheese, I recommend smoked Gouda or Parmesan
1/4 C panko bread crumbs
1/2 C (or 1 medium) carrot, grated
2 green onions, thinly sliced
minced garlic
1 egg + 1 egg white, lightly beaten
salt & pepper
slider buns or rolls, or standard hamburger buns
avocado, cheese and other yummy toppings

How it's made
Cook quinoa and stock (bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed, fluff with fork). Set aside to cool, can be done in advance.

In a large bowl, mix together cooked quinoa, chickpeas, cheese, panko crumbs, carrot, onion and garlic. Mix until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste, and then mix in egg. Form into patties appropriate to the size of your bun, and be sure to squeeze them into a firm patty.

Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a large nonstick pan or cast iron skillet (or 2 to be twice as fast). Add patties and cook on one side until crispy, then carefully flip. If they come apart when flipped you are not packing them enough! Cook other side until crispy. Repeat for remaining patties.

Enjoy!

Lentil-Walnut Burger with Creamy Cilantro Lemon Sauce

Lentil burgers remind me of the Sierra Nevada Brewery pub in Chico, CA. They offer enticing dishes of all types, but whenever I am there I have to get the lentil burger. It's just too delicious to pass up.

I saw this lentil-walnut burger recipe in my Everyday Food: Great Fast Food cookbook, from the people who do the Martha Stewart Living magazine. So far, what I've made from this book has been tasty, and what I really appreciate (just like in my Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook) are the fantastic photos. It certainly helps motivate me to make new dishes when I'm staring at a mouth-watering picture.

I'm going through a cook-what-I-already-have-in-my-cupboards phase. I happened to have some dried lentils on hand--in fact I'd had them for quite some time. And I always keep a Costco-sized bag of walnuts (so much cheaper!) for baking and the like. So, the stars aligned and I decided to make these burgers for dinner. It was a bit of a process (maybe because I have the smallest food processor known to man), but not a complicated or terribly elaborate one. And the results were definitely worth the effort!

Lentil-Walnut Burgers
~PRINT RECIPE~

• 3/4 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 1/3 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
• 3 garlic cloves (or more to taste) coarsely chopped or pressed
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Course salt and fresh ground pepper
  
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large egg
• Creamy cilantro sauce (optional)

Creamy Cilantro Sauce

• 3/4 cup low-fat or non-fat sour cream
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Course salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the lentils in a small saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender but still holding their shape--about 15-20 minutes. (The older the lentil, the longer the cooking time. I actually soaked my old lentils for about 2 hours before I started cooking so they wouldn't take as long to cook.) Drain well and cool.
2. Meanwhile, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and darkened, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
3. While waiting for lentils and walnuts to cook, whisk together all ingredients for creamy cilantro sauce, season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. In a food processor, combine the walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Process until finely ground.
   Add the lentils and 1 tablespoon of oil. Pulse until coarsely chopped. (Some lentils should remain whole).
5. In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the lentil mixture and mix well. Divide into 4 equal-sized parts. Roll into balls and flatten with your palms into 3/4-inch-thick patties.

6. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the burgers and cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, gently flip the burgers---8 to 10 minutes each side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Serve with creamy cilantro sauce and other burger fixin's.

Stuffed Burgers

I might start rating my recipes by how many "mm-mmm's" the food gets from John. This just happened to be a 5. Growing up my dad would make stuffed burgers from time to time. Dave is known to order them at McMenamins. So I thought it was my turn to give them a try. This is what I did:

First, I bought just over a pound of the 20% fat ground beef from New Seasons. I know 20% fat sounds like a lot when you see it next to the 10% or 5%, but when you're dealing with grilled burgers it equates to grilled goodness.

Second, I cut a large yogurt container so I was left with a two-inch ring measuring from the rim. This is the form I used to mold the burgers. They actually make a tool for this you can buy for $20...or you can make your own.

Thirds - I like to make 1/3 pound burgers..when you're dealing with 20% fat meat a good portion of the meat melts away and the 1/3 lb burger is actually just right. Separate the 1/3 lb portions into halves.

Fourth, press one half of the meat into the mold. Make sure to really work it into the entire space. This will make sure your burger holds together when you cook it. I usually flip it and then press it in again. Once you've done this, with the meat still in the mold, sprinkle finely chopped fillings (cheddar cheese, green onions, red onions, blue cheese, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, etc. what ever suits you). Then free-form the second half of the meat into a disk and place it over the other meat and toppings in the mold. Kind of like a top pice crust.

Fifth, press the top all around and work specifically around the edges. Flip it over, use mold again, and do a final pressing. If you don't press it well enough you run the risk of the burger splitting open on the grill and loosing your fillings and maybe even part of your burger.

Sixth, grill. The burgers in the image above are a little more well done than I usually like. It just happened. And we didn't have any tomatoes to top, but the green onions and lettuce were from our garden. With a little bacon, some BBQ sauce and mustard they still tasted soooo good.

Enjoy!