Sweet Potato & Cannellini Bean Burger (Vegan/GF)

I remember when the words “veggie” and “burger” (ahhhh) were mentioned at family bar-b-qs, I immediately knew that I would be served gummy brown disks, drenched in condiments and shoved between two pieces of bread in order to placate my strangeeating habits.

Veggie burgers have come a long way from the “Boca Burgers” of the early 90’s. Thank god. Yet no matter how many variations of the “Veggie Burger” there are on the market (from portabello burgers, to seitan, tofu, etc…), I am still continuing to widen my veggie burger portfolio (so to speak) and am proud to admit that my curiosity and ingenuity endures.

Here is a recipe for the veggie burgers from the last night’s dinner. A total delicious success if you ask me.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cannellini beans (cooked)
• 2 cups mashed sweet potato (peeled, sliced, steamed and mashed)
• 2 ½ tbsp. tahini
• ¼ cup chickpea flour
• ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ½ tsp. apple cider vinegar
• ½ tsp. lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
• 1 cup chopped spinach (or kale would work too)
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• Himalayan salt and cracked black pepper to taste
• gluten free “breadcrumbs”… I used yellow mais this time but brown rice “crumbs” work as well
• extra virgin olive oil for cooking

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 200C (400F)
• In a food processor (or with your hands), mash the cannellini beans and sweet potato puree together
• Add in the onion and spinach and continue to blend/process for another 30 seconds or until totally mixed but there are still a few chunks
• Add in the rest of the ingredients (except for the breadcrumbs and oil) and mix for another minute
• Form patties out of the mixture (there should be about six or seven) and coat with the crumbs
• Heat about ½ tbsp. olive oil in the pan and cook for about 2 minutes on each side
• Place the burgers on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place in the oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned

Condiments:

I served these vegan burgers with sliced avocado, sliced onion, tomato, lettuce and a 1-minute ketchup/bbq sauce concoction (I literally whipped some tomato paste, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup together and it turned out totally perfect with the flavors…) and gluten free focaccia.