Recipe: Bodacious Beetroot Burger

Who doesn’t like a good burger that they can wrap their laughing gear around?!

There’s something super satisfying about eating a good burger – maybe it’s the flavour combination or that we can eat our burgers with our hands! This Beetroot Burger is a wonderful and healthy dinner – great for singles, couples and families… you can even make the patties ahead of time and freeze them for speed and convenience.

Also, a few words on the brilliant beetroot… they:

• are high in antioxidants
• help fight inflammation
• lower blood pressure
• enhance athletic performance
• help you detoxify
• lower the risk of heart failure and stroke
• support digestive health and
• boost brain function!

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped
• 250g cooked brown lentils or kidney beans mashed
• 325g raw beetroot, grated
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp smoked paprika or cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
• Salt and pepper
• 6 tbsp plain flour or almond meal
• 1 tbsp olive oil, extra

To Create!

1. Fry the onion, garlic and chilli in the olive oil over a medium heat until soft. Transfer to a plate and place into the fridge to cool.
2. In a large bowl, mix the lentils/mashed beans, beetroot, walnuts, egg, turmeric, garam masala, paprika, ginger and cooled onion mixture, until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Sprinkle in the flour (or almond meal) one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is dry and firm enough to stick together. Mould the mixture into six individual burger patties.
4. Place burger patties on a large plate or tray and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes so they firm up.
5. Heat the extra olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the lentil patties and cook for five-to-six minutes on each side, until caramelised and heated through.
6. Serve with your favourite burger toppings and bun! I love eating my burgers with lettuce cups instead of buns. Yummo!

Tip: Lentil burgers go wonderfully with a yoghurt, lemon juice and tahini sauce seasoned with salt and pepper!