Brown Rice and Black Bean Burgers

I have to admit that a vegan hamburger, if made right, can turn into a gourmet meal easily.

I used brown and black rice together, combined with crimini mushrooms, onion and black beans to create a mouth-watering, juicy vegan burger.

I believe that the key to make this burger successful is the large sautéed onion and the mushrooms. It really fluffs it up, and makes it soft and delicious. You can spread some smoky mayo (check it out on my blog for the recipe), bake my healthy hamburger buns, top with avocado and some greens- and there you go! Casual to gourmet, just like that.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh parsley

1/2 cup carrots 

4-5 stems of fresh thyme

Organic crimini mushrooms 6oz/170g chopped

1 large onion

1 garlic clove minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cups cooked brown and black rice together

1.5 cups cooked black beans

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon turmeric

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil spray

Directions:

Heat oven to 375F.

Take a baking sheet and line with parchment paper. Spray with olive oil. Set aside.

In the food processor add parsley and carrots. Pulse until thinly cut. Pour into a mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a non sick pan add olive oil, onion, salt, and pepper. Sauté for few minutes, then add the fresh thyme and mushrooms. Sauté until golden and tender. Pour into the carrot/parsley mixing bowl.

In the food processor, add 2 cups (out of the 4) of the brown/black rice and 1 cup of the black beans (out of the 1.5 cup). Mix until puréed. Pour into the carrots/parsley/mushroom mixture. Add the rest of the brown rice, black beans, cumin, paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands well until it is evenly distributed. Take an ice cream scooper and wet your hand to form evenly sized patties. Lay on the baking sheet. Spray the top with olive oil spray and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Serve on your favorite bun. 

Make about 15 burgers