Veggies on the counter

Today, I have some apologies to make. Firstly, I apologize for not being around here in the last couple of days: in fact, my semester ended yesterday and, to cure the tireness of a pretty hectic week, I had a twelve-hour sleep (yes, you read well) and now I feel really refreshed and brand new. The second apology has to due with the fact that I have another burger recipe to share with you.

I’ve made these burgers last week and was quite surprised with how they came out: the burgers were tasty, had a great texture and after being pan-fried they  really got a nice crispy outside and a chewy inside. As far their taste goes, it’s  toasty and grainy (thanks to the millet), as well as salty and tangy because of the sun-dried tomatoes. I suspect you could replace the adzuki beans for black beans, but on the other hand, canned ones won’t probably work out in here: canned beans tend to be to soft and mushy, and you really want your beans not to be overcooked. On the other hand, you could play a bit with the herbs in here: thyme and chives were what I had on hand, but using fresh basil instead would be a great substitution. Wish you all a great weekend, and I promise I’ll come back very soon with some more veggie love to share. ; )

Adzuki Bean and Sun-Dried Tomato Burgers

(makes 6 burgers)

195 grams (1 cup) millet

750 ml (3 cups) water

½ teaspoon salt

60 grams (about 12 halves) dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes

½ teaspoon salt

400 grams (1 ¾ cups) cooked adzuki beans

4 large garlic cloves, peeled

5 tablespoons plus 3 olive oil

freshly grated black pepper

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon dried chives

1. In a dry skillet over medium-heat, toast the millet for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until it turns golden brown and starts smelling toasty.

2. Transfer the toasted millet to a pan filled with 750 ml (3 cups) water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, decrease the heat to low-medium, add ½ teaspoon salt and cook, covered, for 30 minutes, or until all the water has been absorved and the millet is cooked through. Remove from the heat and let it cool down a bit at room temperature.

3. In the meantine, put the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl filled with hot water (1 cup - 250 ml – should be enough). Cover, and let the sun-dried tomatoes rehydrate for 15 minutes. Drain them and coarsely chop them. Set aside.

4. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic cloves with a pinch of salt. In a frying pan over medium heat, warm 5 tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, but not smoking, add the crushed garlic and salt mixture and fry until golden brown – 4 to 5 minutes. Let the garlic cool to room temperature.

5. In a food processor, process 2 cups of the cooked millet, ½ cup of the cooked adzuki beans, the fried garlic and the oil, the dried thyme and chives, black pepper, and half of the chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Process for 2 minutes, or until a thick purée comes together. Have a taste and season with a little more salt if needed.

6. Add the remaining adzuki beans and sun-dried tomatoes to the purée and pulse no more than 2 or 3 times – you want the burgers to have some texture, so these ingredients only need to be broken down a bit. The mixture should now be thick and easy enough to handle and shape.

7. Lightly oil your hands and divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. Shape into patties the size of your hand palm.

8. In a large frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the burgers when the oil is hot, and pan fry them  for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, only turning them once. Serve hot with your favorite ingredients or as shown in the picture bellow.