Beet This!

Passport & Plate - Bean and Beet Burgers on Sweet Potato Buns

Canada | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Tomato Jam

7 tomatoes, preferably field
1 cup of white sugar
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp cumin
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
1 finely chopped jalapeno


Sweet Potato Buns

1 large sweet potato
¾ cup of hot milk
4 tbsp of melted butter
1 (8 g) pkg of active dry yeast
6 cups of flour
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp melted honey
1 egg
2 tbsp melted butter for brushing on the buns


Beet and Black Bean Burgers

2 beets, roasted and shredded
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 can of Romano beans
½ can black beans
1 cup brown rice
1/4 cup rolled oats
¼ cup chopped dates (I used coconut rolled dates)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp coriander
1 egg
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

 

How to prepare this recipe
Roast potato in a 400 degree oven for 50 mins. Peel and mash potato with butter and hot milk.

Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup of warm water. Let sit for 10 mins.

Mix flour and salt. Add potato, yeast, melted honey and egg to dry ingredients. Mix and knead for 10 – 12 mins., adding more flour as necessary. Shape into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 mins.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Divide dough into 12 balls. Place in dish, cover and let rise for 45 mins.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 – 25 mins. Remove and brush buns with melted butter.

Tomato Jam
Slice tops off the tomatoes, and squeeze out seeds. Finely dice tomatoes and place in a saucepan. Add sugar, lime juice, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, salt and jalapeno. Mix together, and bring to a boil.

Simmer for one hour, or until thick and jammy.

Beet and Bean Burgers
Wrap beets in foil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add rice. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 35 - 40 mins. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan over med-high heat, add diced onion and cook until brown, 10 mins. Add cider vinegar and simmer until evaporated. Set aside.
Process oats in a food processor to a fine flour. Add dates and drained and rinsed romano beans. Process until beans are roughly chopped - 8 to 10 seconds. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the half can of drained, rinsed black beans.

Remove skin from beets, shred beets and place in colander to drain. Transfer beets, rice, and onions to bean mixture. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Shape into 6 -8 patties. Cook burgers in a cast iron skillet over high heat in a few tbsp. of vegetable oil. Cook for 2 mins. on one side, then flip. Cook for another 2 mins., and then cover the pan and cook for four more mins, until burgers are hot inside. Add a slice of cheese in the last minute of cooking.

Garnish with spinach, mayonnaise, and tomato jam.

 

The story behind this recipe
In Paris - smoked fish on still-warm baguette, and escargot swimming in butter. In Cuba, I rode to a local paladar, where I noshed on hot lobster and delectable Moros y Cristianos – black beans and rice.

I feasted on sauerkraut, Weisswurst and sweet mustard, and pan-fried potatoes in the Bavarian Alps.

I can go on, you know.

Deliciously drippy beachside gyros in Greece. Deep-fried oysters and a sparkly Gewurtztraminer in Vancouver. Luscious tuna and sweet corn sandwiches from a London food stall.

Quebec’s Tarte au Sucre and poutine with cheese curds so fresh that they squeaked. Crisp pork dumplings and cold-busting hot and sour soup in Toronto’s Chinatown.

I love to eat.

Recently I was working in the library when my stomach started to gurgle. I needed food and fast. As I jammed things into my tote bag, a card fell out of a book. Ah. The village’s new resto. Very conveniently located directly across the street.

The lunch menu included a MUST TRY – the OMG Burger.

The owner smiled. “It’s the best burger you’ll ever eat. A veggie burger, with spicy tomato jam, cheddar, aioli, and spinach on a potato and leek bun."

It sounded divine; I ordered.

I dug in, and finished the burger in about a minute flat.

“This really is the best burger!” I exclaimed in between mouthfuls.

I told my family about it, I told my neighbours, I told the world on social media. I even sent a Facebook message to the restaurant, begging for the recipe. I received this droll response, “So glad you liked it. But the recipe dies with me lol!”

I didn’t recreate that burger, but I did try. I came up with a pretty, pink burger that my friends and family gushed over. It tastes like a summer's day.

Did I tell you that it’s scrumptious? That it’s beautiful?

I have pretty much eaten my way almost across the globe, and the best burger EVER is located a mere five minute walk from my home. Sometimes, you don’t have to go far to find the best fare.