Quinoa Burger with Creamy Feta & Sweet Potato Fries
Arguably better than the real deal, this is a great recipe for all of you gluten-free and vegetarian weirdos, and also for those who identity with neither.
INGREDIENTS (serves five people):
4 sweet potatoes
1/2 a lemon
1tsp sugar
1 cup of plain quinoa
3 cloves of garlic
5 baby carrots or 1 medium carrot
1 ear of corn
1/2 a green bell pepper
1 can of drained black beans
1 cup of bread crumbs or panko
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of cayenne
1 tsp of thyme
Olive oil
1/4 a bushel of fresh spinach
1/2 a red onion
3 oz of cream cheese
8 oz of feta cheese crumbled
White wine
1/2 a lemon
1tsp sugar
1 cup of plain quinoa
3 cloves of garlic
5 baby carrots or 1 medium carrot
1 ear of corn
1/2 a green bell pepper
1 can of drained black beans
1 cup of bread crumbs or panko
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of cayenne
1 tsp of thyme
Olive oil
1/4 a bushel of fresh spinach
1/2 a red onion
3 oz of cream cheese
8 oz of feta cheese crumbled
White wine
1: SWEET POTATOES
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Wash potatoes and proceed to cut them into fry-shaped pieces. Make them a little long because they will shrink with the heat. Throw fries into a glass bowl with three tablespoons of olive oil, and season with sugar, salt, and pepper. The secret here is sugar. Many people forget this addition, but sugar is important for the savory and sweet taste of sweet potato fries - what really sets them apart from regular McDonalds' fries. Lastly, squeeze in half a lemon and place fries on a large baking dish to cook for forty minutes.
At the twenty minute mark, stir the fries around to flip them around and cook on all sides. If you reach the forty minute mark and your fries are still soggy, put the oven on broil and let it burn like Usher for five more minutes. Pull out and serve with the rest of your meal.
2: QUINOA
Pronounced as keen-wah, this wonder grain is a godsend for all gluten free-ers and health advocates of the world. Quinoa is high in protein and fiber and is very versatile for different menu options. By making it into burgers, quinoa gives you a great substitution for meat, cutting the calories from grease and any ill feelings from farm animals.
Prepare quinoa as described on its box. It takes about 15 minutes, so be sure to do this before all else (except for the sweet potatoes).
3: VEGETABLES
Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Dice carrots and green bell pepper so they are as small as possible. Shave corn off of the cob. Place all veggies in a glass bowl.
On medium to high heat, sauté minced cloves of garlic with two tablespoons of olive oil. Make sure the garlic is minced as small as possible before sautéing it. Once the garlic starts to turn brown and your house is filled with yummy smells, add your veggies and stir them around so they cook on all of their tiny sides.
In the now empty glass bowl, pour in your drained black beans and mash them with a fork. Once they are mushy, add them to your sauté and mix them well with your veggies. Season with salt and pepper.
Don't forget about your sweet potatoes! You should flip them now.
4: MAKE PATTIES
Once your quinoa is ready, pour it all into a large glass bowl. Next, add your sautéed veggies. Beat two eggs and stir those into your mixture. This will make the food stick together and make your patty thicker. Last but not least, add a cup of breadcrumbs. When I made this, we didn't have any breadcrumbs, so I used a cup of Jiffy corn bread mix and it worked fine. Any kind of cornmeal or panko works well, too.
Make sure your concoction is stirred well and season with salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne. The cumin and cayenne will give it more flavor and a little kick. Stir again and finally, grab handfuls of your mix and place on cookie sheets in their hopeful burger form. You should have about ten patties. Freeze these for about twenty minutes.
5: CREAMY FETA
Doesn't it sound amazing? Mix feta crumbles and cream cheese into a food processor - or if you're like me and college-poor, a blender. I added white wine to the mix to help it blend. It also makes the taste a little richer and serves as a great reason to pop open that bottle of wine on a week night. Make sure to pour yourself a glass as well. Season this mix with salt, pepper, and thyme. Once it is blended, pour it into a small glass bowl for serving.
6: BURGER TIME
Heat four tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Take your patties out of the freezer and plop three of them at a time onto the skillet. We're going to fry them a little on here. The trick here is to keep them in burger form, try to maintain the form by letting them cook for longer on the bottom. Wait for the patties to darken on the bottom, so they are almost black. Once they look like this, flip them individually with a wide spatula. Once they are cooked on both sides, it is easier to flip them around. If you think they are ready, spare one for tasting and get the feel for about how long they take to cook. I cooked mine so they looked a little burnt on both sides to make sure they cooked all the way through. This makes them look like true burgers, too.
7: SERVE
Your burgers are ready! I made an assembly line of patties, creamy feta, buns, red onions, and spinach. These are great without buns, too, maybe better. As you may have noticed, I'm a huge fan of mushrooms, so I sautéed some to top my burger. You can do that or add tomato if you want.
Your fries should be ready as well. Try them with ketchup on the side and your meal is complete. Enjoy!
1: SWEET POTATOES
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Wash potatoes and proceed to cut them into fry-shaped pieces. Make them a little long because they will shrink with the heat. Throw fries into a glass bowl with three tablespoons of olive oil, and season with sugar, salt, and pepper. The secret here is sugar. Many people forget this addition, but sugar is important for the savory and sweet taste of sweet potato fries - what really sets them apart from regular McDonalds' fries. Lastly, squeeze in half a lemon and place fries on a large baking dish to cook for forty minutes.
At the twenty minute mark, stir the fries around to flip them around and cook on all sides. If you reach the forty minute mark and your fries are still soggy, put the oven on broil and let it burn like Usher for five more minutes. Pull out and serve with the rest of your meal.
Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Dice carrots and green bell pepper so they are as small as possible. Shave corn off of the cob. Place all veggies in a glass bowl.
On medium to high heat, sauté minced cloves of garlic with two tablespoons of olive oil. Make sure the garlic is minced as small as possible before sautéing it. Once the garlic starts to turn brown and your house is filled with yummy smells, add your veggies and stir them around so they cook on all of their tiny sides.
In the now empty glass bowl, pour in your drained black beans and mash them with a fork. Once they are mushy, add them to your sauté and mix them well with your veggies. Season with salt and pepper.
Don't forget about your sweet potatoes! You should flip them now.
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Wash potatoes and proceed to cut them into fry-shaped pieces. Make them a little long because they will shrink with the heat. Throw fries into a glass bowl with three tablespoons of olive oil, and season with sugar, salt, and pepper. The secret here is sugar. Many people forget this addition, but sugar is important for the savory and sweet taste of sweet potato fries - what really sets them apart from regular McDonalds' fries. Lastly, squeeze in half a lemon and place fries on a large baking dish to cook for forty minutes.
At the twenty minute mark, stir the fries around to flip them around and cook on all sides. If you reach the forty minute mark and your fries are still soggy, put the oven on broil and let it burn like Usher for five more minutes. Pull out and serve with the rest of your meal.
2: QUINOA
Pronounced as keen-wah, this wonder grain is a godsend for all gluten free-ers and health advocates of the world. Quinoa is high in protein and fiber and is very versatile for different menu options. By making it into burgers, quinoa gives you a great substitution for meat, cutting the calories from grease and any ill feelings from farm animals.
Prepare quinoa as described on its box. It takes about 15 minutes, so be sure to do this before all else (except for the sweet potatoes).
3: VEGETABLES
Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Dice carrots and green bell pepper so they are as small as possible. Shave corn off of the cob. Place all veggies in a glass bowl.
On medium to high heat, sauté minced cloves of garlic with two tablespoons of olive oil. Make sure the garlic is minced as small as possible before sautéing it. Once the garlic starts to turn brown and your house is filled with yummy smells, add your veggies and stir them around so they cook on all of their tiny sides.
In the now empty glass bowl, pour in your drained black beans and mash them with a fork. Once they are mushy, add them to your sauté and mix them well with your veggies. Season with salt and pepper.
Don't forget about your sweet potatoes! You should flip them now.
4: MAKE PATTIES
Once your quinoa is ready, pour it all into a large glass bowl. Next, add your sautéed veggies. Beat two eggs and stir those into your mixture. This will make the food stick together and make your patty thicker. Last but not least, add a cup of breadcrumbs. When I made this, we didn't have any breadcrumbs, so I used a cup of Jiffy corn bread mix and it worked fine. Any kind of cornmeal or panko works well, too.
Make sure your concoction is stirred well and season with salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne. The cumin and cayenne will give it more flavor and a little kick. Stir again and finally, grab handfuls of your mix and place on cookie sheets in their hopeful burger form. You should have about ten patties. Freeze these for about twenty minutes.
Make sure your concoction is stirred well and season with salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne. The cumin and cayenne will give it more flavor and a little kick. Stir again and finally, grab handfuls of your mix and place on cookie sheets in their hopeful burger form. You should have about ten patties. Freeze these for about twenty minutes.
5: CREAMY FETA
Doesn't it sound amazing? Mix feta crumbles and cream cheese into a food processor - or if you're like me and college-poor, a blender. I added white wine to the mix to help it blend. It also makes the taste a little richer and serves as a great reason to pop open that bottle of wine on a week night. Make sure to pour yourself a glass as well. Season this mix with salt, pepper, and thyme. Once it is blended, pour it into a small glass bowl for serving.
6: BURGER TIME
Heat four tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Take your patties out of the freezer and plop three of them at a time onto the skillet. We're going to fry them a little on here. The trick here is to keep them in burger form, try to maintain the form by letting them cook for longer on the bottom. Wait for the patties to darken on the bottom, so they are almost black. Once they look like this, flip them individually with a wide spatula. Once they are cooked on both sides, it is easier to flip them around. If you think they are ready, spare one for tasting and get the feel for about how long they take to cook. I cooked mine so they looked a little burnt on both sides to make sure they cooked all the way through. This makes them look like true burgers, too.
7: SERVE
Your burgers are ready! I made an assembly line of patties, creamy feta, buns, red onions, and spinach. These are great without buns, too, maybe better. As you may have noticed, I'm a huge fan of mushrooms, so I sautéed some to top my burger. You can do that or add tomato if you want.
Your fries should be ready as well. Try them with ketchup on the side and your meal is complete. Enjoy!
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