Quinoa Veggie Burgers

Truly, the best way to make a veggie burger is to use black beans. I used to make a beetroot and black bean burger with roasted garlic that was amazing. However, my body will not tolerate any of the bloody ingredients in them at the minute, even in tiny doses, but next time I make them for my family I’ll photograph them and share the recipe I you’d like? 

Trying to construct a veggie burger that’s low fodmap, suitable for vegans, gluten free and that genuinely tastes good, is no mean feat. I’ve worked hard to bring you something that is the real deal and not merely a stack of vegetables in a bun, or even worse, a stack of soggy veg in between two mushrooms with sesame seeds on top - they’re fooling no one. Ha! 

With this recipe, you can make burgers or you could even roll them into little falafel sized patty’s that work beautifully with salads or are delicious in wraps. You can also switch up the herbs and spices and please do feel free to add whatever veg you love. This recipe is keeping it low fodmap but if that’s not a concern for you, feel free to add - sweet corn, peas, kidney beans, roast garlic, squash, beetroot, onion or anything else you fancy.

Note: If you can’t tolerate chickpeas at all, you could sub them for 1 packet of vacpack Chestnuts. It’ll give a slightly different taste but it’ll still works a treat.

QUINOA VEGGIE BURGERS  (makes 6)

Ingredients

1 cup of uncooked quinoa 

1 tablespoon Low fodmap veg stock or 1 stock cube

1 can of chickpeas - drained and rinsed thoroughly 

1 large carrot- grate 1/2, dice 1/2

4 spring onions  (green part only) - sliced

1 courgette - grated 

2 peppers (red and green) - roughly chopped

A handful of green beans - finely sliced

1 cup of kale - removed from stalks and finely shredded

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbsp chopped chives

1 tbsp oregano

1/2 tbsp parsley

1 cup brown rice flour or oat flour

Optional:

1/2 cup grated cheese/vegan cheese 

For added spice feel free to add: chillis, jalapeños or roquito sweet chilli peppers etc.

I use 1 tbsp of finely sliced roquito peppers

Coating ingredients

2 tbsp rice flour

8-10 tbsp water

Topping ingredients

1 1/2 cups gluten free breadcrumbs

2 tbsp fody foods BBQ Seasoning

or mix 1/2 tsp each of: coconut sugar, smoked paprika, oregano, cumin and a generous pinch of salt and black pepper  

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. 

Cook the quinoa with 1 tbsp vegetable stock powder or 1 stock cube as per the packet instructions. Then leave to one side.

Meanwhile, sauté the spring onion, carrot, courgette, peppers, green beans and kale in a drizzle of garlic oil and a pinch of salt in large frying pan, over a medium heat. Sweat the vegetables out for 5-10 minutes so that they can release some moisture and prevent the dreaded soggy veggie burger.

Add the cooked quinoa and chickpeas to a food processor and mix for a few minutes until they are combined, smooth and sticky then transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the veg, nutrional yeast and herbs/ spices/ cheese  and give everything a good stir. Add the flour and fold it through the mixture until it is fully incorporated then leave to sit for 5 minutes.

Divide the mixture into 6, roll into balls then press into patties using your hands or a burger press if you like. They should be fairly easy to handle and holding their shape, if not, let them sit in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes to firm up.

In a wide, shallow bowl mix the rice flour and water to make a kind of “batter” or “egg wash” replacement that will help the bread crumbs and seasoning to stick. In another bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and seasoning.

Dip the burgers, one by one, into to the coating then into the breadcrumbs and press well to ensure they stick and the burgers are fully coated. 

Note: If you don’t want to cook them all right away, store in an air tight container in the fridge at this stage and bake whenever needed.

Place the burgers on a tray lined with greaseproof paper then pop them into the oven for 25-30 minutes (turning once halfway) or until they are beautifully golden brown. If you like, once the burgers are cooked you can add a slice of cheese to the top of them and let it melt in the oven for a couple of minutes. 

Serve on a toasted gluten free burger bun with the toppings and sides of your choice. Enjoy.