Here's a way to make a healthy vegetarian burger.
INGREDIENTS:
½ cup dry red quinoa
2 15-ounce cans black beans
2½ cups Brown Button mushrooms, diced
3 garlic cloves, pressed
2 tablespoons chia seeds plus 6 tablespoons warm water
¼ cup green chives, finely chopped
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
Sea salt and ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ cup gluten-free rolled oats + ½ cup walnuts, slightly processed together (option: can roast this mixture in oven at 400F for 3-5 minutes for a crispier burger)
PREPARATION:
Rinse and strain the quinoa. Bring 1 cup of salted water to the boil and add quinoa. Simmer it, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until the water has evaporated. Remove it from the heat and give it stir. You will end up with 1½ cups of cooked quinoa. Set this aside. Rinse, strain and pat dry the black beans. Transfer the beans to a large bowl and mash them with a fork (it’s fine if you still have some chunks of black beans). Add the cooked quinoa to this and mix it well.
Put the chia seeds in a small bowl and add the warm water. Mix them with a fork and let this sit for while – it will turn into a jelly. Fry the diced mushrooms with the pressed garlic in a dry pan until all the water has evaporated. You will end up with 1 cup of fried, garlic mushrooms. Add this to the black bean and quinoa mixture. Give it all a good stir. Add the green chives, thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper and mix into burger mixtures. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, dijon mustard, soy sauce, and cayenne pepper. Add this to the black bean-quinoa mixture and mix.
Add the chia seeds and mix everything well. Add the oats and walnuts crumbs and turn them into the mixture with clean hands. Adjust the spices and herbs to taste. Add some olive oil in a heated pan or place them directly on the outdoor grill. Cook them on a low-medium heat for a good 5 minutes on each side.
