Veggie Burgers

I have mentioned before that I am really not a fan of minced meat. I have managed to teach myself to eat it in some family meals but, eating a beef patty in a burger is something I’d prefer to skip if I can!!

So, especially as we seek to eat less meat and increase our plant based options wherever we can, these delicious patties have become our go-to option!

1 medium, peeled and diced Sweet potato, about 500g
1/2 a medium butternut pumpkin, peeled and diced, about 500g
400g tin Chick peas, drained – Butter beans also work well.
1 tbsp Garlic olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp finely diced fresh herbs (think Italian Style herbs – I mostly use rosemary and thyme)
1/2 cup Nutritional yeast
1/3 cup hemp seeds
3 tbsp flax meal

Place the sweet potato and pumpkin in a lined baking dish and drizzle with garlic olive oil.

Bake in a preheated 200C oven for about 60 minutes.

Place the chick peas or beans in a bowl and cover them with boiling water to soften for about 10 minutes.

Remove veggies from oven and transfer to a bowl appropriate for mashing.

Drain the chick peas and add to the veggies before mashing all together.

Once mashed, sprinkle over the flax meal, nutritional yeast and hemp seeds and stir in well and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Form into balls (roughly the size of a tennis ball), then squash into patties and place into the fridge for at an hour (but overnight is fine too).

Heat some olive oil in a heavy based pan, or on the BBQ and place patties in the oil.

Cook over a medium heat (so that the outside doesn’t burn before the inside is cooked!) about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

We like to have them in burgers together with salad and my Creamy Avocado Dressing. Or even just with lots of avocado.

The kids like their to have a slice of cheese melted onto the top of them under the grill before going into their burgers …. and Peter prefers his with a little bacon!