Quinoa Veggie Burgers

While searching for ways to use quinoa (because it's awesome and I love it), I came across this recipe for Quinoa Burgers at Enlightened Cooking. Hello, Yum! I only tinkered with the recipe a little bit. It's awesome. It is really, really good. I've always loved veggie burgers, but try finding the ones at the grocery store that are not made with soy! Impossible! These are super easy to throw together and can handle a variety of toppings. I topped mine with Turkish Red Pepper Spread and parsley, but they'd also be good topped with pesto, hummus, bean dip, mustard, tomatoes...anything you please.

(Quinoa Burger with Turkish Red Pepper Spread - yum!)

I will tell you that I never rinse my quinoa. It's supposed to be rinsed to remove the coating that may have a bitter taste to it. I think it's a pain to rinse quinoa, plus I really like the slightly bitter twang to it. It does not have that twang all the time, but when it does I like it. If you don't like it, rinse the quinoa under warm water for a minute and drain before using.

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
4 scallions, thinly sliced - white and green parts only
2 cups of cooked white beans, such as Great Northern or Cannellini
1/4 cup GF breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten (or 1 tbsp. flax meal)
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper

Bring the water to a boil in a small pot. Add the quinoa, cover and simmer 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Set aside to cool.

Steam carrot until soft. Drain carrots and transfer to a medium bowl. Mash the carrots together with the beans. Add the quinoa, scallions, egg (or flax meal), breadcrumbs, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix well - mixture should be slightly sticky (otherwise, it will dry out quickly and crumble into bits when you try to form it into burgers). If it's too sticky, add more breadcrumbs a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Form quinoa mixture into burgers about 1/2 inch thick. Cook until bottoms are golden brown, flip and repeat (about 5 minutes per side). Serve hot with toasted sandwich rolls or by themselves (which I prefer, with a salad to accompany it) and desired condiments.