Adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s recipe
By Meg Stern, Old Louisville Fresh Stop Market Leader
1 1/4 cups cooked, cooled brown rice
1 cup cooked brown or green lentils, cooled, drained well
1 cup shredded beets from Rootbound Farm
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme, rubbed between your fingers
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel (or finely crushed fennel seed) Optional
1 teaspoon dry mustard (or use mustard from a jar if you have)
3 tablespoons very finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons smooth almond butter (or peanut butter or other nut butter)
1/2 cup very fine breadcrumbs (can use gluten free rice crumbs or anything else you have around the house)
Olive oil for the pan
Peel beets and shred, then set aside. Put in food processor and pulse the brown rice, shredded beets and lentils about 15 to 20 times, until the mixture comes together, but still has texture. It should look a lot like ground meat. If you don’t have a food processor, you can mash with potato masher or fork.
Now transfer to a mixing bowl and add all the remaining ingredients. Use your hands to mix very well. Everything should be well incorporated, so get in there and take your time, it could take a minute or two.
Place the mixture in the fridge for a half hour to chill.
Preheat a cast iron pan over medium-high. Now form the patties. Each patty will be a heaping 1/2 cup of mixture. To get perfectly shaped patties, use a 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter or ring mold. Otherwise, just shape them into burgers with your hands.
Pour a very thin layer of oil into the pan and cook patties for about 12 minutes, flipping occasionally. Do two at a time if you’re pan is big enough. Drizzle in a little more oil or use a bottle of organic cooking spray as needed. Burgers should be charred at the edges and heated through. You can also choose to broil if you want to stay away from oil.
Serve immediately. Serve with your Valley Spirit Farm lettuce and Rootbound Farm onions! Later on in the season, you can add sliced tomatoes. They taste yummy heated up as well, so if you want to cook them in advance, refrigerate, then gently heat in the pan later on.
Meg (she/her/hers) is a Louisville native with a passion for fresh food, cooking, and health justice. She is active in various local groups and enjoys the fun of fresh local veggies that New Roots brings to the communities she cares about.
