Quinoa, Red Bean, and Walnut Burgers

Today, we finally had time to try another veggie burger recipe from the book, and we went for the Quinoa, Red Bean, and Walnut Burgers.  Well, E had time while J was out.  It was a time-consuming effort, totaling about an hour (the book claims the prep time is 30 mins), but was it worth it?  4 out of 4 taste-testers agree that it was ("for fine dining," one specified).  We've figured that the best way to make these recipes is with two people and doubling the recipe.  Doubling the recipe takes little more effort than a single recipe, and with two people working at once, you can reduce preparation time and increase yield.

These burgers are delicious – savory and nutty, they pack a punch with every delectable bite.  Sauteed mushrooms and caramelized onions on top (sans pomegranate sauce - we skipped that since we didn't have any pomegranates) provides a subtle sweetness to accentuate the savory flavor.  The nuts add an occasional crunch that gives the burgers an appreciated texture.  We made ours thin and a little crispy on the outside, and they held together well.  We served them with a salad of field greens, yellow tomatoes, red peppers, and our favorite vinaigrette – Silver Palate cookbook balsamic vinaigrette.  They were very good this way but would probably also be good on buns (whole wheat for us, of course!).

These are definitely burgers we'd love to make again, given the time.  We have many, many recipes we have yet to try in Veggie Burgers Every Which Way, but we know this is one that is tried and true and is perfect to serve for a large group if you double the recipe.

background.

We love NPR for myriad reasons (including "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" and "Prairie Home Companion").  NPR is entertaining and educational, generally simultaneously.  It gets a lot of air time in our car.  One day, E she heard an interview on NPR with Lukas Volger discussing his cookbook, Veggie Burgers Every Which Way.  She happened to be very hungry at the time and the conversation about such alluring food prompted her to decide the book was a necessity in our kitchen island cookbook collection.

The proper liberals we are, we're very concerned with the environment, our health, animal ethics, and the other hot-button issues.  E eats very little meat (and only when it fits her standards regarding the above issues); J eats none.  We both like to cook.  We're a little tired of lentil stews and tofu.  This book is perfect for us!  (John Mccann could probably benefit from it, too, speaking of NPR (don't worry, John, you can hold on to your "ghetto pass")).

There are 30 veggie burger recipes in Veggie Burgers Every Which Way (and a few recipes for buns, fries, toppings, etc).  We began with the Easy Bean Burger, but we're not necessarily going in order.  We hope we'll cook our way through the book.  Whether or not we manage to is besides the point, because we're going to enjoy some delicious veggie burgers along the way!



Thank you, Lukas Volger!  We're a hungry (basically-)vegetarian family, and we're looking forward to many scrumptious and refreshingly-different-from-what-we're-used-to dinners!