This spicy, vegetarian burger is sure to warm you up on a cold day. But, it's great any time!  It's flavour packed, full of high quality proteins (mung beans and quinoa) with a "kick" that's a great substitute for regular meat burgers.

Mung beans are the perfect ingredient for making vegan burgers.  They have an earthy and meat-like taste to them.  And, because they contain vitamins, minerals, amino acids and are high in fibre, they're also very healthy for you.

Ingredients:

small handful of fresh cilantro

4 green onions, ends trimmed

2 hot peppers (2 jalapenos), seeded

3 cloves garlic

1 cup of broccoli

1/2 red pepper

1 small piece fresh ginger, peeled (1/4 to 1/2 inch)

2 teaspoons lime zest

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups cooked mung beans, drained well

2 cups cooked quinoa

Burger Toppings:

• sliced avocado
• sprouts
• salsa

 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mung beans take about 45 to 60 minutes to cook on the stovetop and about 10 minutes to cook in the pressure-cooker.  If you're using dried beans, be sure to add a thumb size piece of Kombu and soak overnight first.  After cooking, make sure you drain them very well before using in the recipe. The burgers won't work if there's too much liquid added.

When cooking your quinoa, cook 1 cup with 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of water so it's on the drier side. This will help the burgers hold together better.  And, lastly, be sure all of your cooked ingredients are either cool or at room temp before you begin making the patties.

Using a food processor, fitted with the "s" blade, process all ingredients (except mung beans and quinoa) until finely minced.  Add the cooked mung beans and quinoa and process again until the mixture comes together and forms a ball.

With slightly oiled hands, shape into six patties. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.  Bake for 20 to 30 minutes and flip.  Bake for 15 to 20 more minutes.  Cooking time depends on the thickness and how crispy you want the outside.

Serve each burger inside two napa cabbage leaves (I love using rainbow chard too) and top with your favorite toppings.

I also use my patties to top off my salads as well.  They'll keep for a few days if refrigerated.

Yield: 6 burger patties