Veggie Burgers with Beets, Lentils, and Bulgur Wheat

I am addicted to veggie burgers. Is that weird? I love them. I would order one over a hamburger any day. I have been kind of obsessed with making them lately. I have tried quite a few different variations and I have liked most of them, it just didn’t work out for me to blog them (mostly because I ate them before taking a picture). I did share my Portobello Pineapple Teriyaki Burger a while back. That was a good one. And I just found another amazing looking recipe that I am going to try next week. But lets talk about today’s little gem. It’s filled with beets, lentils, bulgur wheat, mushrooms, onions, cashews, and heaven. It’s a great vegan dish because it is packed with variety and protein.This veggie burger was a little bit harder to work with and cook than others, but even though it was really soft it was packed with flavor. And the panko crumbs at the end really help it stay together and add a yummy crispy layer.

If you have never had a veggie burger, do not expect it to be the same as a hamburger. To me, the goal is not to imitate meat, but to be a sandwich that is just as delicious, just in a different way. If you can see it as its own dish and not a hamburger remake, than you wont feel gipped as you watch everyone around you eating a juicy hamburger.

One more note, this dish works best if you have a food processor or a really good blender (vit-a-mix). If you don’t, you might have to use a blender or immersion blender to break things down in batches and then mush them all together in a big bowl.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 3 small beets, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 C. dry lentils (green or brown)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 C. bulgur wheat
• 1/2 C. veggie broth
• 1 C. mushrooms, sliced or chopped
• 1/2 C. onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 3 big fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/3 C. raw cashews
• seasoned panko bread crumbs (I like to buy mine seasoned, but you can add a little bit of garlic salt and pepper to your panko if you want.)
• olive oil
• my favorite whole wheat buns or my favorite white homemade hamburger buns
• toppings (my topping choice:grilled mushrooms, tomato, avocado, lettuce, sweet peppers, barbeque sauce)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop and peel your beets and wrap them up in tinfoil. Place the tinfoil packet on a baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes. Check them for tenderness (they may need a little bit more time depending on your oven and the size of the beets). You can roast the beets ahead of time and keep them in the fridge to make things easier and faster.

2. While the beets are cooking, place the lentils and water in a pot and bring to a boil. As soon as it reaches a nice boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until lentils are tender and water is gone. Make sure it doesn’t keep cooking after the water if gone. If the water evaporates and the lentils are not soft, add a little more water.

3. Once you get the beets in the oven and the lentils simmering, start on the bulgur wheat. In a small pot, bring the veggie broth to a boil. Once it boils, throw in the bulgur, put the lid on, and turn of the heat. After about 10 minutes the bulgur should have soaked up the liquid.

4. Next, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan on the stove. Add the onions, mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for a minute or two more, stirring occasionally. You want the mushrooms and onions to be tender. Remove from heat and stir in the basil.

5. Now it is time to combine everything. In your food processor, begin by processing the cashews until they become a coarse “flour”. Next, add the beets, bulgur, mushrooms and onions and process until combined. Add the the lentils and pulse a couple of times until everything is combined, but still slightly chunky.

6. Using the same pan you cooked the onions in, heat up some oil over medium high heat. Meanwhile, pour out a layer of panko onto a plate. Place a glob of burger “dough” in the panko and press down into a patty shape. Flip to coat the other side in panko. Place in the hot pan and reduce the heat to medium low. I feel like if you leave the heat too high, it just burns the outside, but doesn’t cook it through. Flip once and cook until panko is golden and crispy and patty is cooked through. Repeat with the remaining burger mixture until it is gone.

Note: I made the mistake of making my burgers to thin. I suggest making the burgers on the thick side and just cooking them a little longer.

7. Toast the buns and pile on the toppings. This meal is vegan, but if you don’t care about that kind of thing, you could add cheese. That would be yummy. I am addicted to barbeque sauce on my burgers, but sweet Thai chili sauce, salsa, chimichurri, chutney, or pesto would all be delicious!

Keep reading for veggie burgers round 2, because I can’t stop making them.

Recipe by Edible Experiments, adapted from Eat, Live, Run.