Beet these Burgers!

By Mabel Thompson

A nutrient packed veggie burger with a lot of flavor, these beet burgers are great with garlic sriracha aoli.

Ingredients

Burgers:

• 1 lb raw beets (about 3 small)
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ cup minced onion
• 6 Hamburger buns
• Hamburger toppings like: avocado, lettuce, tomato, etc.

Aioli:

• 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup canola oil (+ additional ¼ cup if needed)
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sriracha
• 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled

Instructions

Burgers:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Poke the sweet potato with a fork and cook in the microwave until tender, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Peel the beets and shred them with a box grater. (I used shred blade in food processor). Place shredded beets into a large mixing bowl.
4. Puree walnuts in a food processor until finely ground – about the texture of couscous.
5. Peel the skin off the sweet potato and mash in a small bowl with a fork. Toss into the mixing bowl with the beets.
6. Add egg, onion, paprika, garlic, vinegar, Worcestershire, and ground walnuts to the beets. Stir well.
7. Form into six or seven 4 inch patties and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the begin to darken in color.

Aioli:

1. To assemble the aioli: place egg yolk into a food processor with a pour spout and run on high speed. Combine the canola and olive oil into a measuring glass and pour a slow, steady stream into the food processor while it is still running. (The slower you add to start, the better.)
2. Continue to add the oil until the mayo starts to thicken. If it isn’t thickened to your liking after adding the cup of oil, add up to ¼ cup more. So, my aioli didn’t work and I used Hellmans, 1 cup, and I think you should cut garlic to one clove (overpowers beet flavor), and maybe mix half mayo and half sour cream.
3. Now, add the vinegar, sriracha, and garlic to your aioli in the food processor. Puree for a couple of pulses and serve! I didn’t have sriracha so used one chipolte pepper (smoky)
4. Assemble burgers by placing a beet patty on top of one half of the bun and topping with 1 tablespoon of aioli, lettuce, tomato, avocado, etc.

And here is a vegan Worcestershire sauce: (original contains anchovy)

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ground black pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Cool to room temperature.