Veggie Burgers

We eat veggie burgers about 2 times per week and I LOVE them. However, as pseudo-vegetarians I really wanted one that had a bit more protein than the traditional burgers we got at Trader Joe's. I found this recipe on one of the blogs http://edibleperspective.com I sometimes check in with (I do like her food recipes but I am not as interested in the home renovation aspect of her blog). These burgers were SUPER easy to make and so much healthier in every way in comparison to the ones I get at TJ's. Nathan described them "twiggy" but in a good way and he even enjoyed a leftover burger for lunch today... that says a lot coming from someone who needs to have his leftovers spaced out over a few days. I am excited to try different variations on this standard burger next time.

Below is the recipe from her blog.
Chickpea Herbed Veggie Burgers [adapted from Oh She Glows]

• 1c cooked chickpeas
• 1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 small sweet onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/4c salsa [*if your salsa is very watery, drain some of the liquid, or per Angela’s instruction use 1/2 chopped bell pepper and add it to the food processor with the carrot + onion]
• 1/2c spinach, lightly packed
• 1/2t dried dill
• 1T oregano
• 1/2T parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4t fine grain sea salt
• black pepper
• pinch or 2 of cayenne pepper
• 1/4c unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1T pepitas
• 1T ground flax meal
• 1/2-3/4c millet flour

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. Place the carrots, onion + garlic in the food processor and process for about 20sec.  You don’t want to puree it, but just have it well combined and in similar sized small/medium pieces.
3. Add in the chickpeas, spinach, salsa, dill, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper and cayenne [if using]. Pulse around a handful of times, until just combined.  *Be careful not to over process or the mixture will become too liquidy.
4. Empty contents into a bowl and mix in sunflower seeds, pepitas, and flax meal.
5. Start by adding in 1/2c millet flour [ground in a blender from whole, raw millet].  I used buckwheat flour instead, Mix until combined and test the mixture by trying to roll a ball in your hands.  If the mixture falls apart or is not holding together add flour in 2T increments.  The mixture should be fairly wet but still able to hold together.  You want to make sure not to add too much flour.  Add enough so they just hold together.
6. Form into 6 patties [this size works the best so they don’t fall apart], place on the parchment lined pan and then to the grill for about 15min.. 
7. Whey they are golden brown, flip and cook another 8-12min, until browned evenly on both sides. 

*The most important part of this recipe is not adding too much flour.  As mentioned in the directions, the mixture will be quite wet, which is what you want.  Before the first flip, they should stiffen up and hold together without a problem.
*If you don’t have millet flour, or raw millet to grind into flour, you can sub chickpea flour, quinoa flour [grind raw quinoa], oat flour [grind oat groats or rolled oats], or buckwheat flour [grind from raw buckwheat groats], etc.  If you don’t need this to be gluten free, you can use spelt flour [like Angela], or wheat.
Feel free to make this recipe your own by changing up the spices.  This past summer, I made an Italian version and topped them with fresh tomato, basil + mozz.  You could definitely make a curry style or a cumin Mexican spiced variation as well.
The best thing about these, is how easy they are to prep.  It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but the burgers literally come together in the time it takes to preheat your grill or oven.
http://edibleperspective.com/2011/04/cabinets-dinner/