Another take on the illustrious "veggie burger"

Beet Burgers!

Cut this recipe out of a magazine a while back (think it was Vegetarian Times). 

The original calls for eggs, cheese and flour.

This is my gluten-free vegan variation.

Ingredients:

4 cups of beets (grated)
1 cup onion (chopped fine)
1 cup of cooked long grain brown rice
1 cup of sunflower seeds (raw)
1/2 cup of sesame seeds-I opted to use 1/4 c each of black and white gomasio AND I think next time I'll throw some chia seeds in there too for an even meatier texture.
3 tsp of egg replacer dissolved in 4 tbsp of warm water
2 tbsp of tamari (gluten-free soy sauce) or amino acids (Bragg's or Coconut Secret, are my fave)
1 C. of Daiya cheddar shreds (or pepper jack for a bit of a kick)
I also added 1 tbsp. of garlic powder
3 tbsp. of gluten-free flour mix*
1/4 c of canola or olive oil


Yields about 10-12 patties.


Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

First part of this is pure messy fun!!! 

And your kitchen will indeed look as if a massacre has occurred there but fear not! 

There are precautions that can be taken.

Start by peeling/skinning your beets.

I cut them into manageable size chunks so that they would be easier to handle for the next step.

I recommend laying some wax or parchment paper over your surface area and maybe some rubber gloves?  If you do not have any gloves to protect your hands from staining, simply wash and rinse them every so often.

Grate your beet chunks until you have accumulated about 4 cups worth and place them in a large (non-porous) bowl.

One of the toughest things I've found in altering recipes to be vegan is to find something reliable to replace the egg when it serves the purpose of being the binding agent. 
In baking, I opt for applesauce or banana, to substitute for the egg. With something like this, it's obviously not an option and I find though it isn't a perfect alternative for all recipes, in this one I used Ener-G egg replacer and it turned out fine.  I find that if I give it a bit of a whip and let it sit for a minute or two it becomes more tacky and sticky like an egg would be.

Thoroughly mix all of your ingredients in a bowl.

Form into patties and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet in the center of the oven.


Bake for 40 minutes. 
Then carefully turn the patties over and bake for an additional 5 minutes.


If you'd like to grill your burgers, put them on the grill after they have baked for the 40 minutes and you have flipped them.

Close-up of the finished product.

And then even though there's cheese in the actual patty, I decided I wanted a bit more.
Oh and decided I wanted a "double" too. ;)

Condiments and toppings include: veganaise, lettuce, tomato and a grilled onion/red pepper blend.

Love and light,

Amber

UPDATE: (June 14th 2012)

I made another batch this afternoon with some slight variations that I highly recommend!

These burgers have become my hubby's absolute favorite but to mix things up, he asked if maybe one night I could try out a new mushroom burger recipe.  I do intend to do that but I thought why not try out adding some mushrooms to the mix for the beet burger? 

The result: Yummo!!!

*I sauteed 1 cup of crimini mushrooms (finely chopped) with 1 cup of sweet onion and 1/2 cup of green onion (both finely chopped, as well).  Then added it to the mix.


*I also substituted the 1/2 cup of sesame seeds with 1/4 cup of sesame seeds and 1/4 cup of chia seeds.


*And last but not least, I divided up the 1 cup of cheese shreds with 1/2 cup of Cheddar and 1/2 cup of Pepper Jack.