Recipe: Black Bean and Red Quinoa Veggie Sliders

I love red quinoa.  It has a bit more crunch than regular quinoa.  Red quinoa adds nice texture and colour to these sliders, and its super healthy too.  As for veggie burgers, I really can't stand it when they are crumbly.  These sliders are perfect - crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and full of flavour.  They can be made into full size burgers also. I bake them before grilling so they are nice and crispy on the outside and maintain their form.

Combine all ingredients in the food processor and pulse until well mixed.

Form into palm-sized patties.  Bake for 10 minutes then cool on a cooling rack.  Once cooled, brush both sides with olive oil and grill on an indoor electric grill or a bbq (we used an inside grill press and grilled them for about 10 minutes total). 

Black Bean and Red Quinoa Sliders
Makes 8 sliders

1/2 cup uncooked red quinoa
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup water
2 flax eggs (made by combining 2 tbsp flax powder with 6 tbsp warm water, let stand 5 min)
1 can black beans
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4 c salsa
1/3-1/2 c bread crumbs
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
olive oil for brushing
8 whole wheat dinner rolls, cut in half and warmed

Preheat oven to 350.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Rinse quinoa and transfer to small lidded pot with vegetable stock and water.  Bring to a boil uncovered then cover and simmer for 12 minutes on medium low heat.  Meanwhile, prepare flax eggs. 

Once quinoa is done cooking, transfer to food processor.  Add beans, garlic, onion, salsa, chilli powder, flax eggs, salt and pepper.  Pulse until well combined and onion and garlic have been incorporated. 

Transfer to mixing bowl and add bread crumbs, mixing with your hands until desired consistency is reached.  You want the mixture to stick together when pressed but not too mushy.  For a firmer burger add 1/2 c bread crumbs.  For a softer burger add 1/3 c. 

Form mixture into 8 palm-sized patties. Place burgers on lined sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool completely (so that they do not break apart). 

Once cooled, brush with olive oil and grill on indoor grill for approximately 10 minutes or on barbeque.  Serve sandwiched in dinner rolls with condiments of choice.


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Recipe: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos

These burritos are our go-to frozen meal.  I make a big batch then freeze them wrapped individually, so when we need a quick meal we reheat them in the microwave.  They are a bit time consuming to make because of the steps involved, but are well worth it to have something healthy, vegan and meal-sized on hand. 

They are made up of a sweet potato layer, a black bean layer, and a sprinkling of Daiya cheese.  You can bake the sweet potatoes, but I prefer to microwave them since it is much quicker.
If you microwave them, pierce them all over with a fork.  Place them on a microwave-safe dish for 4 minutes on high.  Flip them over and microwave them for another 4 minutes.  Pinch them and if they are still hard, give them another couple minutes.  Cut them open and let them cool while you work on the black beans.

You'll first sautee your onions, then add the garlic and black beans.

Then you'll add water and smoosh your beans in the pan.  I don't have a potato masher so I use the top of my meat tenderizer. Smoosh away until you have a thick paste.  Add tamari (or soy sauce), hot sauce, dijon and spices.

Scoop the cooled sweet potato innards into a bowl and mash along with chopped adobe peppers.  Peppers in Adobe sauce come in a tin and can be found in grocery stores in the Mexican/Latin American area.  

Now its time to assemble.  Scoop a heaping tablespoon of sweet potato mixture first.  Top with heaping spoonful of beans.  Sprinkle Daiya (which is, by the way, the best vegan cheese out there, hands down).  Wrap into a burrito.  Repeat with remaining tortillas.  If you are using small tortillas you'll get 12-14.  If you are using large you'll get 8 or so and you'll have to adjust your fillings accordingly.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.  Cool completely then wrap individually and freeze.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos
Makes 12-14 small or 8 large burritos

1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes or yams, baked or microwaved (see above for instructions)
2 peppers in adobe sauce, chopped
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 c water
2 tbsp tamari (soy sauce)
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp chilli pepper
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c Daiya cheese (vegan)
14 small or 8 large tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Scoop out sweet potatoes and mash in a bowl along with chopped adobe peppers.  Set aside.  Saute onions for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.  Add garlic and saute for another minute.  Add black beans and water and mash slightly so a thick paste forms.  Add tamari, hot sauce, dijon, chilli pepper, cumin and salt and pepper.  Cook for another 5 minutes or so.  Turn off heat.

To assemble burritos: divide sweet potato mixture between tortillas.  Then divide bean mixture on top of sweet potato layer.  Sprinkle with Daiya cheese and wrap into burrito.  Place in on layer ungreased baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.  Cool completely then wrap individually and freeze.  If you make full-sized burritos, you can wrap each one in a paper towel before wrapping in plastic wrap.
To reheat, unwrap plastic and wrap in a paper towel.  Microwave on high for 2 minutes.

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