Friday night as usual was burger night and I’m experimenting with the different beans I can use in my ingredients. I quite like the taste of black eye peas and thought they would be ideal to use along with some other vegetables. I’m starting to feel a lot more confident in throwing things together and trying new combinations, if you’d told me last year that I’d be in the kitchen making my own recipes from scratch I would have thought you raving mad, but once you get used to foods and not worry too much if it doesn’t turn out quite how you envisioned then things just tend to go well.

I wanted to add a bit of colour to my burgers so I opted for a tasty red onion chili chutney, this stuff is lush and would be great on sandwiches with a little hummus perhaps…. mmmmmmm hummus!

Spicy Veggie Burgers with Maple Pineapple Slices, Sweet Potato Wedges and Red Onion Chili Chutney (Vegan & Gluten Free)

MyInspiration Feel The Difference Range

Serves 2 (with a few burgers left for lunch) ready in under an hour.

For the burgers

2 cans black eyed peas, drained, rinsed and mashed

1 carrot, grated

1/2 onion finely sliced

4 button mushrooms finely sliced

1 garlic clove, finely sliced

1 1/2 cup sweet potato mash

1/2 cup garden peas

2 tsps Paprika

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

Dash of Tabasco sauce

2 tbsp gram flour

For the Red Onion Chili Chutney

2 red onions, finely sliced

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dried thyme

1 hot red chili finely chopped

1.5 tbsp natural brown sugar

For the pineapple

4 pineapple slices

1 tbsp maple syrup

Pinch of paprika

For the wedges

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into wedges

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp water

To garnish

Avocado

Paprika

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper

2. Prepare the sweet potato mash by adding the sweet potatoes to boiling water and cooking for 10 minutes, drain and mash.

3. For the wedges, pop the sliced sweet potato onto a baking tray, drizzle over the 2 tbsp water and sprinkle the basil and black pepper, give it a shake and pop in the oven for 30 – 35 minutes, turning occasionally.

4. Now make the burgers, add the onion, mushrooms and garlic to a saute pan, add 2 tbsp hot water and cook for 5 minutes, transfer this, and the remaining burger ingredients, into a large mixing bowl and stir together, if the mixture is too wet, add a little more gram flour, then shape into 9 – 10 patties and pop on the lined baking tray and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, turning half way through.

5. In the meantime, you can make the chutney. Take a small sauce pan and over a medium heat add the ingredients, bring to the boil, then reduce heat slightly and cook this for 10 – 15 minutes, then take a stick blender (or pop in a food processor) and pulse until the mixture is broken down.

6. For the pineapple – very simple, just pop in a baking tray, drizzle with maple syrup and grill for 4 – 5 minutes, then sprinkle over a little paprika.