We're starting a new blog series featuring sustainable recipes from our Certified Green Restaurants®! First up is VegeNation, an all vegan & Level 1 Certified Green Restaurant® located in Vegas. Learn more about the steps they've taken here.
THE POWER PROTEIN VEGENATION BURGER
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked steel cut oats
1 cup walnuts
1/2 Tbsp avocado oil, plus more for cooking
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 Tbsp each chili powder, cumin powder, and smoked paprika
1/2 tsp each sea salt and black pepper
1-1/2 cups cooked black beans
1/2 cup chickpea flour
4 Tbsp vegan BBQ sauce
Instructions:
Cook steel cut oats in 3 cups of water for 20 minutes until soft and sticky.
Heat skillet over medium heat and once hot, add raw walnuts and spices and toast for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden brown. Let cool and move onto the next step.
In the meantime, heat the same skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 1/2 Tbsp oil and onion and sauté till soft then add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking till mushrooms are nicely browned. Remove from heat and set aside. Once walnuts are cooled, add to blender or food processor and blend until a fine meal, set aside.
To a large mixing bowl, add drained, dried black beans and mash well with a fork, leaving only a few whole beans.
Next add hemp seeds, cooked steel oats, spice-walnut mixture, sautéed onion and mushrooms, chickpea flour and barbeque sauce — mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes, or until a moldable dough forms. If dry, add extra 1-2 Tbsp barbeque sauce. If too wet, add more chickpea flour. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
For larger burgers, divide into 5 patties (1/2 cup in size), or form 10 smaller burgers (1/4 cup in size). To help form the patties, line your 1/2 or 1/4 measuring cup with plastic wrap and pack with burger mixture. Press down to pack firmly, then lift out using the plastic wrap’s edge, and slightly flatten with hands to form a 3/4-inch thick patty. Set on a baking sheet or plate for grilling.
If grilling, heat the grill and brush the grill surface with oil to ease cooking. Otherwise, heat the same skillet you used earlier to medium heat.
Once skillet is hot, add just enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of your skillet, then add your burgers — only as many as will comfortably fit in the pan. Otherwise, add burgers to the grill and close lid.
Cook for 3-4 minutes or until well browned on the underside, then flip gently. They aren’t as firm as meat burgers, but will definitely hold their shape. Reduce heat if cooking/browning too quickly. Cook for 3-4 minutes on other side.
Remove burgers from heat to let cool slightly, and prepare any other toppings/sides at this time (such as grilling/toasting your buns). Serve burgers as is, or on toasted buns with desired toppings.