Photos and Recipes are from PureElla
1 cup cooked Naosap Harvest Wild Rice
1 cup cooked organic black beans (from a BPA-free can or previously cooked dried beans)
1 medium onion, diced fine
1 chia or flax egg (mix 1 T of ground chia or ground flax seeds with 2 T warm water, mix and let stand for 2 minutes)
1-2 teaspoons of sea salt
1-2 teaspoons of freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 – 1 teaspoons of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons grape seed oil + more for cooking
about 1/2 cup Naosap Harvest Wild Rice Flour for coating
Directions:
Cook the wild rice in salted water as per directions. Wild rice cooks about 1 hour, so it’s a great idea to cook the rice the night before or at least plan ahead to have it ready. (I also freeze cooked rice for a quick thaw and use the day of.) If you’re cooking dried beans, be sure to add in that time frame also. Cooking your own beans is always better as it’s more economical, healthier and eco-friendly. But sometimes convenience helps a ton, but look for BPA-free cans if possible.
In a large non-stick skillet (I love my cast iron pan), sautee the onion on low-medium heat until golden but not burned. Set aside.
In a food processor, add in wild rice, black beans and all other ingredients except the wild rice flour and blend until a blended mixture forms. I like to leave some texture of the wild rice and beans so I don’t mix for too long, just a few seconds to get a crumbly but sticky mixture.
Transfer the mixture into a bowl, add the golden onions and mix with a spoon or your hand to incorporate the onions in. Taste the mixture and adjust any seasoning to your liking. (I have a small kid so I only add a pinch of the chili powder as she’s not crazy about spicy foods) however, I do like the chili powder in this recipe and have created the first few burgers with just a pinch, then added the extra for the rest.) Tasting and adjusting to your taste preference is always great. I like a lot of fresh cracked pepper in these also. And depending on how much salt you had in the cooking rice, will also determine how much salt you will need in these burgers. Low sea-salt will make them bland in taste. Tasting a little from the bowl will tell you exactly what you need more of. 😉
So, now the mixture is ready… Set a plate next to the bowl with Naosap Wild Rice Flour, create a patty with your hands and drop into the flour, flip over to coat completely. Prepare a few burgers this way, heat some grape seed oil in the same pan your sauteed the onions and drop the burgers into the pan. Cook for about 2 -3 minutes on one side on medium heat, or until slightly golden and firmed up, then flip over to the other side to cook.
Vegan, Gluten Free, Meatless Burgers
You don’t want to touch them too much while they’re cooking or else they could break and crumble or stick to the pan. Once they’re in one spot on the pan, leave them there for a minute or two until they are slightly cooked, otherwise they might stick to the pan if they’re not ready. Add more oil if needed and continue with the rest of the batch.
Now that the burgers are ready, you can serve them as you wish, in a bun or salad… or what I liked doing is creating a non-traditional recipe and I created Burger Stack – stacking the burgers on some grilled slices of eggplant with kale, pickled red pepper, vegan mayo, grain mustard and organic ketchup. And I served these with a basket full of carrot and cucumber sticks and eggplant fries.
Who needs a traditional burger anyway when you have a delicious hearty meal that is big on taste and meaty flavour!? (But so much more amazing and healthier for you?) Doing something different is exciting and delicious ~ trust me, this is Good! 😉 Just don’t forget to throw in a fork and knife and a good beer!