Tag Archives: burger

I was originally going to call these my “Red Rody” burgers. For those of you who don’t know, my biological grandfather’s real name was Aneas, but he had a nice head of strawberry blonde hair (he was Irish) and his friends all called him Red Rody. My Grandpa Bill is my mother’s stepdad, and he’s the sweetest, kindest man I know, but I’ve always been curious about my biological grandfather. I’ve heard he was a great dancer and a real funny man.

But naming a burger after your long-passed grandfather seems kinda dark.

So now let me awkwardly segue into how I’ve been in a huge Janet Jackson phase as of late — late 80’s Janet all the way to current Janet. I think Janet is the most talented, beautiful tropical fish. And one of my favourite songs by her is “Nasty,” which of course is defined by its spunky opening like, “Gimme a beat!” Thus, “Gimme a Beet” burgers, far less weird than naming a burger after a person.

Oh my gosh, can you tell this is my most scattered intro ever? What can I say, I’ve been a bit scattered this week (I’m actually in Santa Monica, CA, as you’re reading this — probably running between keynotes and desperately re-applying my sunscreen).

Now, if you recall, I’m not too hip on beets. I’ve been trying to get myself used to the taste because they seem to be the root veggie du jour and, you know, I wanna be a cool kid. Also, they’re good for you and whatnot. Plus, my partner loves them, and food is best enjoyed together, you know?

So here’s the “Gimme a Beet!” burgers, yummy enough to leave your stomach full and your teeth pink. My partner loved the taste and texture of the walnuts, and the unique flavouring from the thyme!

“Gimme a Beet!” burgers, makes 6 jumbo patties or 10 sliders

Ingredients

• One 19-oz can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (toasted, if desired)
• 1 cup rolled oats, processed into a flour
• 1 cup sprouted grain breadcrumbs (well, any breadcrumb, really. I’m not going to tell you how to live your life).
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 3/4 cups grated beets
• 1/4 cup grated carrots (you can mess around with the balance of carrots and beets)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp vegan Worcester sauce (Wizard Brand makes a GF version if you need it). If you can’t find vegan Worcester, balsamic vinegar makes a decent sub
• 1/2 tbsp tamari or coconut aminos (use CA for a gluten-free alternative, or find a gluten-free tamari if you need)
• Several sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped (about one ounce)
• 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• A liberal sprinkle of nutritional yeast (optional)
• One triple flax egg: 3 tbsp ground flax seed meal and 1/4 cup lukewarm water, thickened for about 5 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 35 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Drain and rinse your beans and pour into a large bowl. Mash them up, leaving a few chunks for texture (you can use a masher, or, if you’re gross like me, wash your hands first and just get in there and squeeze ’em).
3. Add in your onions, beets, garlic and carrots. Work those in.
4. Work in the liquid ingredients now (Worcester, tamari and oil) and the flax egg.
5. Now fold in the oat flour, bread crumbs, thyme, spices and nooch (if using).
6. Shape into six jumbo patties (or 10 sliders) and space out on the parchment.
7. Cook for about 15 minutes on each side, until the burgers are crispy on each side maintaining enough integrity to not crumble on your flipper).

As you can see, I topped mine with some veggies and Toffuti slices on a thin bun, but I’m not here to tell you how to enjoy your burger. Now, beet it! My Irish ass is getting a tan (or burnt, probably. Yeah, burnt).