Planet-friendly burger - recipe by Maria Camila Mosos

Published 2022-10-04

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can of black beans)
1 cup quinoa flakes
1/2 red onion
3 garlic cloves
1 small beet
200g mushrooms
1/2 roasted red bell pepper
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh thyme
Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soak the beans overnight or for at least 8 hours.
2. The next day, discard the soaking water, wash the beans, and cook them in a pressure cooker submerged in water. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until they are soft. If using canned beans, skip steps 1 and 2.
3. Meanwhile, roast the red pepper over direct heat until its skin is completely burned. Let it rest until cool so that you can peel it.
4. Finely chop the onion, garlic, mushrooms and red pepper and also grate the beet.
5. Add the onion to a hot, lightly greased skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until translucent and fragrant.
6. Add the cumin, oregano, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes. Then, add the soy sauce, mix well and turn off the heat.
7. Using a fork, purée the beans. It shouldn't be perfectly smooth, and it's actually better for the texture if some of the beans are whole.
8. In a bowl, mix the bean purée, roasted red pepper, onion, mushroom mixture, quinoa flakes, thyme, salt, olive oil and pepper to taste.
9. Mix well until all the ingredients are incorporated. Assemble the patties and refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes.
10. Heat a skillet or grill and add a little oil. Cook the patties for 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
11. Build your burger with bread, dijon mustard, lettuce, tahini, avocado and pickled onions - or whatever toppings you prefer!

ABOUT THE RECIPE:

This bean, mushroom, and vegetable burger shows us that it is possible to have a diverse diet with more vegetables and less waste, without sacrificing pleasure and taste.

The biological capacity of legumes to fix nitrogen in the soil has direct and positive repercussions on the biodiversity of productive lands. In this way they can contribute to generating higher yields in subsequent crop rotations and stimulate the productivity of the land - facts that in turn contribute to the future reduction of the agricultural carbon footprint. Beans can be preserved by drying, without being heavily processed, and tend to be more affordable than many other nutrient-dense foods.

Meanwhile, producing one pound of mushrooms requires less than 2 gallons of water, which is a fraction of the water inputs needed for many other foods. In addition, average annual yields of mushrooms are very high, up to 1 million pounds of mushrooms (~450,000 kg) in just one acre (~4000 square meters). Finally, the beauty of this burger is that you can include any other vegetables you have lying around at home!