Oh the puns we’ll have! See what I did there? Meta.

Anyways…veggie burgers! I stumbled upon the Minimalist Baker’s Black Bean Beet Burgers and was immediately smitten with it. Her use of grains and black beans makes for a really good lookin’ veggie burger. So like any 20something female, I Pinned the fuck out of that recipe and mulled over it for three weeks/forgot I Pinned it/forgot I have a vegan food blog. Tyyyyypical 20something female. Luckily I managed to find time this weekend in between strenuous watching of The Good Wife and copious sleeping to take my dog to the farmer’s market to get ingredients. And by “ingredients” I mean ridiculously colorful radishes, heirloom tomatoes, and black kale i.e. none of the key ingredients for this recipe. WHY AM I SO BAD AT THIS.

Moving along to Pun City, USA. Freekeh is an ancient grain that is fun to say and tasty. The best of both worlds? And for those very reasons, I’ve used freekeh instead of quinoa or barley. Sweet potatoes are my only favorite kind of potatoes and mixed with the black beans and that freekeh, you’ve got a really good texture that bakes up really nicely. Flax “eggs” help bind it a little more and edamame add some protein and a little crunchy fun. (I never learned to “fun.”)

Now let’s get down to some motherfreekehn veggie burger business. (It’s a family business.)

REAL FREEKEHN’ GOOD VEGGIE BURGERS

makes 9 or so

ingredients:

400g or about 2 cups of mashed cooked sweet potatoes (for me this was 2 medium sized sweet potatoes – baked for 45 minutes at 475)

15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup dry freekeh, cooked according to package instructions

1 cup of edamame

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons of ground flax seed (whisked together with 9 tablespoons of water and refrigerated for 15 minutes)

optional toppings:

radishes

tomatoes

kale

pretty things

some buns or whatever

veggie burger makin…

Preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine the black beans and mashed sweet potato. Transfer to a large mixing bowl to start mixing things in by hand. Add in the cooked freekeh and edamame. Start adding in the spices, tasting along the way. Adjust the proportions to your taste. Add in the flax “egg” and mix it all up and stuff. Refrigerate the mixture until it’s properly chilled.

Spray the parchment covered pan with a light mist of cooking spray. (I am aware this sounds odd. Go with it.) Form the mixture into patties and arrange them on the pan. Again give the burgers a light misting of cooking spray. Bake for 30-35 minutes total, carefully flipping the patties after 20-25 minutes or so. Serve on a bun or whatever you like. Top with all the pretentious ingredients you bought at the farmers market. Purple radishes, you guys! Purple!!

NUTRITION (per burger patty only)



