Garden Burgers

One of my favorite weekend meals is a great garden burger complete with sauteed Mushrooms. I have tried a lot on the grocery store shelves, and many of them are good, but I haven't had a great one until I found this recipe. These are hands down the best garden burgers I have ever had. They take a little bit of a time commitment but they are worth it and you end up with 16-20 patties, depending on how big you make them. They will store in the freezer for several months.

INGREDIENTS

2 Tb. olive oil

1 Medium Onion

6 Garlic Cloves

2 Medium Carrots, Shredded

1 Red Bell Pepper

10 Large Mushrooms, diced

1/2 Cup Corn (fresh or frozen)

1/2 Tb. Ground Cumin

1/2 Tb. Dried Oregano

1/2 to 1 Tb. Chili Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

4 Cups Cooked Black Beans (from 2 cups dried or 3-15 oz. cans)

2 Cups Cooked Brown Rice

2 Cups Breadcrumbs

2 Large Eggs

1 Tb. Mustard

2 Tb. Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Tb. Nutritional Yeast

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook until soft and shiny, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, red pepper, and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until soft and aromatic, about 10 minutes. Add the corn, cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 3 minutes more. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the beans, 1 cup of the beans, 1 cup of the rice, and half of the cooked vegetable mixture. Mash with a potato masher until the ingredients are well blended. Use your hands to combine this mixture with the breadcrumbs, eggs, mustard, vinegar, yeast and remaining 2 cups beans, remaining 1 cup rice and cooked vegetables. Let the mixture cool.

Spray a baking sheet with olive oil. Using your hands, form the mixture into well-packed patties. I like to use a pancake/egg mold to make uniform and nice and perfectly shaped.

Lay the patties on the oiled baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Flip the patties, flatten slightly with a spatula and bake for another 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or if storing for later, allow to cool, then freeze on a baking sheet for at least 3 hours before transferring to freezer bags.

The recipe I have posted here is from the cookbook "Homemade Pantry" by Alana Chernila. I found this little gem of a book quite a while ago, and LOVE it! I have yet to make something from this book that I haven't liked. If you want to get back to your cooking roots, and start making your own food, this is a great book.

The Homemade Pantry - by Alana Chernila