Rarely are veggie burgers made with many vegetables, and when creating this recipe, I figured out why: Vegetables contain so much water that they are hard to keep together in a patty. You could use just about any vegetables, but try to extract as much moisture as possible before adding the binding ingredients. You could also dice the vegetables and cook them first to draw out the water and give them an additional layer of flavor.
Ingredients
1 beet, cut in half
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut in half
1 large carrot, peeled
Large handful of cilantro, chopped
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 egg
1/4 cup mayonnaise (or any kind of nut butter)
1/4 cup pecan meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Spray cooking oil
Directions
In a food processor, pulse beet, pepper and carrot until cut into fine pieces but not pureed. Place several layers of paper towels on a plate and pour mixture on towels. Place a few more paper towels on top and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
Add vegetables to a large bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients except panko. Place mixture in the refrigerator and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove mixture from the fridge and mix in breadcrumbs. Form into patties about a half-inch thick. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Spray patties lightly with cooking oil and bake for 20 minutes. Flip patties and continue baking for another 10 minutes.
You can either brush them with a little oil and pan fry or grill them or serve as is. (These patties also freeze well.) Serve on buns with traditional burger condiments, including but not limited to cheese, pickles, slaw, ketchup, mustard, onions and sprouts.
