Quinoa and Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup red quinoa
• 1.5 cups of water
• 1 red onion (chopped)
• 1 carrot (grated)
• 1 clove garlic (chopped)
• Handful of fresh parsley
• 200g black beans (tinned is fine)
• 50g portobello mushrooms
• 20g sunflower seeds
• 20g pine nuts
• 20g walnuts
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 free range egg
• Glug of olive oil
Buns and Filling
• 8-10 sesame bread rolls
• 100g fresh lettuce
• 1/2 cucumber
• 2 vine ripened tomatoes
Salsa
• 1 vine ripened tomato
• 1/2 red chilli
• 1 red onion
• Handful of fresh coriander

Method

1. Add the quinoa, water and a pinch of salt to a large saucepan and bring it to the boil. Once it's boiling, turn the heat down and cover the pan. Leave for 15 minutes to cook and then take the quinoa off the heat but keep it covered for 10 minutes. All of the water should be absorbed at this point so just fluff the quinoa with a fork and put it to one side.
2. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit / Gas mark 4.
3. Place a frying pan on a high heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil has heated up, throw in the chopped onion and your clove of garlic. Fry for 4-5 minutes until the onion has softened and browned, then remove from the heat.
4. Add the parsley, black beans (once you've drained and rinsed in cold water), mushrooms, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, walnuts, cayenne pepper, egg, onion and garlic to your food processor and whizz everything into a wet paste. If the mixture seems a little dry, add half a cup of water to it.
5. In a large mixing bowl, pour in the content of your food processor and mix it all together with the quinoa. Once everything's mixed together you can grease a baking tray and start placing the mixture in small patties onto it. I find that if you use a small ramekin to shape the patties, it becomes a lot easier and you get a consistent size to all the burgers.
6. Once all the mixture is gone, place the baking tray(s) (you may need more than one) into the oven for 30 minutes to cook. When you remove them, be sure to let them cool for 2 minutes before eating them. This will give them time to set properly.
Salsa
7. Whilst the burgers are cooking, add your red onion, chilli, fresh coriander and tomato (be sure to peel the tomato first - you can easily do this by placing it in boiling water for 10 seconds first) into your food processor and whizz them all together briefly.
8. When the burgers are ready, add a dollop of your salsa to the top and place in a bun with some chopped cucumber, fresh lettuce and a slice of tomato.