This was a SMASHING success!
One of our favorite Meatless Mondays so far.
I’m always on the hunt for new ways to incorporate more meatless meals in to our rotation and when I found this on Whole Living I knew it was a must-try.
These are Fannnnn-Tastic!!
I also want to give another shout out to Nancy of A Recipe A Day. She was the one who gave me my first Quinoa recipe to try. Being a Quinoa-Rookie it’s entirely possible if I had tried the wrong recipe the first time around I might not have ever pursued it the way I do now. I am really loving this stuff.
I had to adapt the recipe slightly based on ingredients I had on hand and personal preferences. I also used our favorite Tzatziki Sauce instead of their yogurt sauce with sliced cucumbers.
adapted from Whole Living
For the Tzatziki Sauce, courtesy of Evelyn/Athens at Food.com and adapted slightly
- 8 ounces Greek yogurt
- 1/2 – 3/4 English Cucumber
- 1 garlic clove, smashed to a paste
- 1/6 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh dill
- salt to taste
For the Burgers
- 1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
- 1 medium carrot cut in to chunks
- 3 scallions, sliced thinly
- 1 19 ounce can Cannellini Beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Pita’s, Sandwich Thins or Burger Buns
- tomato slices
- Feta Cheese, to taste
Start with the Tzatziki Sauce because the cucumbers need to drain and the sauce needs time to blend.
I use my box grater to shred the cucumber.
Place in a colander and sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt to help draw out as much moisture as possible. Let drain about 30 minutes. Rinse with fresh water to remove salt then use your hand to squeeze out all remaining water until cucumber is good and dry.
When cucumbers are dry gather remaining ingredients.
Mince the dill.
Then mince garlic. Once finely minced, using your knife at a horizontal angle, smash and rub the garlic until you have a paste. I add the tiniest bit of salt to act as an abrasive to help it “paste” faster.
Add all sauce ingredients to bowl.
Stir to combine then place covered, in fridge and let sit at least two hours for flavors to combine. I do this first thing in the morning so it can rest all day.
For the Burgers:
Gather ingredients and cook Quinoa according to directions.
While Quinoa is cooking, prep remaining ingredients.
Transfer Quinoa to a bowl and let cool a bit.
Add carrots to food processor and pulse until finely chopped. This part is necessary unless you want to finely mince them with a knife.
** Here’s where I ran in to a little trouble with this recipe and I suspected it would happen…
My everyday food processor is a Cuisinart Little Pro Plus…I don’t know how big the bowl is (never measured it) but I know it’s not a super tiny bowl. About 99% of the time it’s perfect for anything I want to do. I kept looking at the ingredients and thinking to myself there was no way they would all fit in the bowl. I was just hoping they would process down to something the processor could handle. Didn’t happen. The Quinoa stayed at the bottom and became almost paste-like while nothing from above would move down no matter how much I tried to manually combine the ingredients with a spatula. I wasn’t about to pull out the monster Cuisinart (I didn’t need the extra dishes) so I dumped the entire mixture in to a bowl and mashed with a potato masher until the beans had mushed but still had a little texture to them. I also wouldn’t be opposed to doing this by hand next time.
Once I had my mixture mushed up I formed in to four patties per directions (dip your hands in water to keep it from sticking to your hands) and placed on a tray that went in to the fridge for them to firm up.
When it’s time to cook:
Heat oil in a non-stick skillet.
Add patties and cook about 4 – 5 minutes per side or until golden.
Here’s another adaptation I made.
The original recipe called for these to be served in Pita’s. I don’t care much for Pita’s. I like their flavor just fine but find Pita’s to be “too much”. No matter what I do to them they’re just too “heavy” for me and drown out whatever I have stuffed inside. So, this time I went with a Multi-Grain Sandwich Thin. It’s a Burger after-all so I thought something along the lines of a traditional bun was in order. I thought a Sandwich Thin was the perfect compromise. And it was…with one exception…it needed to be toasted…which I didn’t do initially. The creamy patty needs a crunchy bun. If you use Sandwich Thins make sure to give them a quick toast in a hot skillet.
Other than that…it was pure Meatless Awesomeness on a bun.
A LOT of Meatless Awesomeness on a bun. I was only able to eat 1/2 a patty. They are extremely filling!! Next time I will make no less then six patties, maybe even try to stretch them to eight patties.
Served alongside a Greek Salad that I posted about on Saturday.
THIS is how every Meatless Monday should be.
Meatless Gorgeousness…
Meatless Awesomeness…
Seriously.
What are you waiting for?
Go get your Greek On.
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Wow! What a beautiful presentation! You sold me right way on the sauce. I just picked up some dill to plant with my other herbs, and I think I have most of the other ingredients. So I’ll definitely be trying this one soon. Okay, I’m going to be one busy girl trying out all your delicious recipes. LOL! :0)
LOL! Thanks! I know how much you like your Mediterranean flavors. Don’t miss out on this one! These are SERIOUSLY good!
Those are beautiful! I wonder if I can talk my husband into trying them – he isn’t that much into beans. Maybe I’ll try them in appetizer size when my vegetarian brother and sister-in-law are visiting. Hubby might try them if they were small enough.
I LOVE the idea of appetizer size patties! Spread a little Tzatziki over top and pop in your mouth. I’d love to hear what your family thinks of them. Be sure to let me know if you make them.
This really looks good! Will have to try that one when I get home.
I hope you do! I love to hear your opinion!
I hope you’re enjoying your trip!
What an interesting idea! They look really good!
We sure enjoyed them!
Mmm.. we’ve been trying to eat less meat, and this looks like the way to go!
These would be a really good place to start, if I do say so myself, lol!
Everything looks fantastic and I love the golden color of the patties! I really want to try this, (maybe even make a multicolored version!) Great job, Justa!
They were SO good! You have to use the Tzatziki Sauce though. It’s what brings everything together.
I love Tzatziki sauce, but never had it with dill so I’ll give it a try.