Easy Vegan Red Veggie Burgers

Delicious, Substantial, Satisfying Veggie Burger Recipe - with Beets!

Many thanks to Meryl Steinberg for sharing her beet veggie burger recipe with us!

Beets in this veggie burger recipe go nicely with the lentils, bulgar, mushrooms & garlic.

Red Veggie Burgers are great on sprouted wheat burger buns with standard burger fixings - lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup, mustard. We added avocado too.

Total Prep & Cook Time: 1 hr, 20 min. 1 hr of soak time, everything else goes quickly.

6 Servings, 6 large veggie burgers.

Nutrition Data Per Serving: 180 cal, 26g carb, 3g fat, 303mg sodium, 9g fiber, 10g protein, low Saturated Fat & Cholesterol, good source Vit B6, B12, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate. Estimated glycemic load 10

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup uncooked bulgar wheat and 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/2 cup dry brown lentils and    1 1/2 cups water
• 1 unsalted vegetable bouillon cube
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, stemmed and minced
• 1 cup grated raw beet (1 medium beet)
• 1 cup finely chopped mushrooms (2 oz any kind)
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaf
• 2 Tbsp besan (chickpea) flour
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbsp high heat oil for frying the burgers
• Ground black pepper to taste
• Burger buns and fixings of your choice

Directions:

1. Add bulgar and 1 1/4 cup water to a small saucepan. Bring to boil, cover and turn off heat. Let stand 1 hour
2. Add lentils and 1 1/2 cup water, 1 vegetable bouillon cube, 1 bay leaf and 1/2 tsp salt to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and turn off heat. Let stand 1 hour
3. Mince garlic, grate beet, chop mushrooms. Set aside
4. Dry roast besan flour, cumin and paprika in a small frying pan on medium heat for 5 minutes
5. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium low
6. Stir fry garlic & in oil 2 minutes
7. Increase heat to medium, add the beets and stir fry 5 minutes, adding 1 Tbsp water as needed if they begin to stick
8. Add dried thyme leaf and chopped mushrooms and stir fry with the garlic and beets 5 minutes
9. Drain well to remove any excess water from the bulgar and lentils, remove bay leaf from the lentils
10. Combine lentils and bulgar in a food processor with the veggies, besan and spices, liquid smoke and soy sauce or Braggs.
11. Process until well mixed but not mushy
12. Turn out into a bowl and stir in the nutritional yeast. The mixture should be quite stiff
13. Form 6 flat patties and cook on medium-low until brown, approx. 10 min per side

Recipe Tips:

A food processor is handy for mixing the burgers to the right consistency. You might be able to get by with a food mill or potato masher - and a strong arm.

The bulgar and lentils should be chewy and fairly dry when you add them - to avoid excess moisture in the burgers. They'll continue cooking as the burgers cook.

The purpose of stir frying the veggies is to cook off excess moisture, so don't skip this step.

Besan flour is an excellent binder and absorbs moisture. Roasting the besan flour & spices takes away the beany flavor of the besan and mellows the spices.

These burgers burn easily because of the sugar in the beets, so be patient with a longer cooking time at a lower temperature

Baking or grilling are good alternative cooking methods (again mind the heat), which use little or no oil

These burgers freeze well. Double the recipe, form into patties, freeze between waxed paper on a cookie sheet, then store uncooked in air tight containers or freezer bags.