Beet & Tofu Burgers

This dish just kind of worked. It was completely experimental to the point where I had a backup plan of scrambled eggs if a disaster ensued. You see, Mark's sister had given us some produce from her garden and one of those items happened to be beets. Up to this point I had never had a beet in my refrigerator and had only recently introduced them to my palate. The beets longingly stared at me for four days from the second shelf of the refrigerator before I decided it was time to have a go at creating something with them.

I almost immediately knew what I wanted to do with the beets, make a plant burger. This might have been because my most recent encounter with them had been in this form and was an enjoyable experience. After scoping out the kitchen I noticed some tofu that was in desperate need of being used before getting forgotten. I started doing a little research and went off that to help brainstorm my own version of a plant burger. Since veggie burgers tend to be mushy enough as it is I pressed the tofu and cooked up some rice (I don't know what the rice does but many of the recipes I looked at used some). Throughout the rest of the afternoon I wrote down my incoherent thoughts until I came up with something that looked like it had a chance of being edible and maybe even slightly pleasant.

I got to work chopping, sautéing, and food processing my burger patty mixture. After the patties were formed I threw them in the freezer in hopes of firming them up a bit. This didn't work but it was worth a shot. Then I fried them up, threw them on buns topped with cheese, greens, and condiments and dug in.

Disregard the worcestershire sauce, nixed it at the last minute

One day I will have a kitchen with good lighting

....Until then, bare with me

Gosh I just love my food processor

I froze them individually because I didn't have
room in the freezer for a cookie sheet

The beets make them look like real beef burgers

Served with sautéed green beans

We thought they were pretty tasty. Mark's only complaint was the mushiness; I've just accepted the fact that burgers of the non-meat variety are basically delicious inch-thick sandwich spreads. Veggie burgers or mush, whatever these are, they are yummy!

Beet & Tofu Burgers

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 beet, peeled and chopped into cubes

3 oz. extra firm tofu, chopped into cubes

beet greens, chopped

1/4 cup cooked rice (1/8 cup dry)

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 jalapeño, seeded and chopped

1 green chili, chopped and optional

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

cumin, salt, pepper, paprika all to taste

Directions:

Heat a little oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add beets, onion, garlic, and jalapeño and cook until beets are soft (15-20 minutes).

Add vinegar and beet greens to pan and allow to cook until greens have wilted slightly.

Add tofu and cook a few more minutes.

In the bowl of a food processor place beet mixture, rice, green chili, and seasonings. Process until well blended.

Form 2 or 3 patties and place on a baking sheet lined with saran wrap.*

Place in the freezer until hard (a few hours).*

Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Once warmed, place patties on skillet and cook for a few minutes on each side.

Remove from pan and place on buns. Add toppings of choice and serve.

Enjoy :)

*Notes:

You can try skipping the freezing part, I'm not sure how necessary it is.