Beetroot Burger

For the burger:

250g	chestnut mushrooms
150g	beetroot
300g	tinned chickpeas, liquid strained and rinsed
1	egg
3 tbsps	flour
3 tbsps	olive oil
1/2 tsp	cumin
1 tsp	dried oregano
1 tsp	dried thyme
1tsp	smoked paprika
4	brioche burger buns, halved
4	lettuce leaves
1	tomato, sliced
1	red onion, sliced
	salt and pepper to taste

For the aubergine dip:

1	aubergine, chopped
1	garlic clove, sliced
1 tsp	vinegar
100g	sunflower seeds
1 tsp	smoked paprika
	salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the chopped aubergine in a pan on a high heat with 1tbsp of oil for around 5 minutes or until soft, remove from the pan and leave aside to cool down.

2. Add the mushrooms to a food processor and finely dice, then place them into the pan with 2 tbsp of oil and cook for around 5 minutes.

3. While the mushrooms are cooking prepare the beetroot – peel, roughly chop and place into the food processor and blitz until finely diced.

4. Place the diced mushrooms and beetroot into a large bowl, add the drained chickpeas into the food processor and blitz until a crumb like consistency is achieved then add into the large bowl.

5. Add the cumin, dried oregano, dried thyme, smoked paprika, egg and flour and mix to combine with the rest of the ingredients.

6. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and shape into burgers with your hands, cook them for roughly 2-3 minutes on each side in a pan on medium to high heat.

7. Toast the burger bun.

8. Now the aubergine is fully cooled down add it back into the food processor with the garlic, vinegar, sunflower seeds, smoked paprika and salt and pepper, blitz until it reaches a smooth consistency.

9. Assemble the burgers by putting 1 burger in the bun with the lettuce leaf, sliced tomato, red onion and a generous dollop of the dip.

10. Enjoy!

      

Even if you don’t have a chopper, blender, or food processer, you can still prepare this recipe. Just make sure that you dice the mushrooms finely. You can grate the beetroot and mash the aubergine and the chickpeas with a fork.