Homemade Adzuki Bean Burgers

Recently I've started eating less meat and so I've been experimenting with some vegetarian recipes!

A lot of the vegetarian meat-substitutes that I've seen in the supermarket tend to have a mushroom base, and as I consider mushrooms to be my food hell they seemed less than appealing!

I like bean burgers so I thought it would be a good place to start!

I found this recipe made 3 large burgers

Ingredients

100g adzuki beans

100g quinoa

1 carrot

1 egg

Salt and Pepper

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

This makes a sweet and spicy burger, if you prefer a savoury option, swap out the ketchup and brown sugar for 2 teaspoons of paprika and a clove of chopped, fried garlic.

Preparation

I buy my adzuki beans dried so they need soaking overnight before they can be cooked

For 1 part adzuki beans, add 5 parts water

Cooking

Cook the adzuki beans in 500ml of water. Boil for 10 minutes and then simmer for 40 minutes.

Drain the beans and mash them lightly with a fork.

In another pan, cook the quinoa in 400ml of water, simmering for 20 minutes.

Drain the quinoa and add to the mashed adzuki beans.

Set the oven to 180°C (fan assisted, 200°C for non-fan ovens) and line an oven tray with greaseproof paper.

Grate in the carrot, add the ketchup, brown sugar and egg.

Salt and pepper to taste.

The mixture is quite sloppy, but don't be put off by that! When the mixture is baked, the egg firms up the burgers.

I put large handfuls of the mixture onto the lined baking tray and flattened them into burger shapes (use a spoon if you like, I just like getting hands on with my cooking!). This made 3 large burgers.

I cooked them for 15-20 minutes until the burgers began to crisp around the edges

They were delicious! I had mine with some lettuce, cheddar cheese and (yet more) ketchup!

The burgers are moist in the middle and crisp on the outside!

The other burgers I kept in the fridge and when I wanted to have another I warmed them up in the oven for about 15 minutes.

These will definitely be added to my regular rotation of meals!

Hannah x