I was excited to get a copy of Gwyneth Paltrow’s new cookbook “My Father’s Daughter” last week upon reccomendation from a friend. It is a great book if you are in to simple, healthy recipes.
Tried out my first recipe from the book tonight which I tweaked, just a little. They were great. After a busy summer of socializing, eating and drinking I tend to always try to eat healthier near the end of summer beginning of fall (since all my clothes begin to fit rather tightly). Of course my boys truly frowned at the idea of veggie burgers…so these were just for me (and my husband if I can trick him into trying and believing that there is meat in them. The recipe make 4 patties – mine made 5 because I used a little more black beans and added in some grated zuchinni – I am now excited to come up with other add ins (mushrooms, cheese, etc).
These were great shoved inside a whole wheat pita with lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, hot peppers and feta and with a large dollop of my homemade tzatiki sauce (see the recipe on this site). Delish! Hmmm because they are healthy can I have two? Enjoy!
ps…the pictures for these really suck (I need a new camera…and more time to make it look pretty…but I always like to eat the food while hot) – they don’t do the yummy burgers much justice – trust me – they are really good!
I have added in the side notes my changes…these are pretty versatile though so feel free to change it up as you like.
– 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– 1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
– 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced (I used three, I love garlic)
– 1/4 tsp ground cumin (I also upped this probably used a tsp)
– 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
– 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
– 1 14 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (I used a 16 oz can, because that was the size I had)
– 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
– 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I used parsley because I was out of cilantro)
– Optional – (I added in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup grated zuchinni and a few dashes of hot sauce)
– 2 tbsp flour
– 3 tbsp safflower oil (or just use extra virgin olive oil if you don’t have)
Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-low heat. Saute the onion, garlic and cumin together until soft and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, beans and rice and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add the cilantro and mash the mixture with a potato masher just to combine and get some cohesion – you want the burgers to have some texture.
Let the mixture cool and shape into 4-5 patties. At this point you can set the burgers in the fridge for a few hours. Once you are ready to cook, dust the patties in a bit of flour. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the burgers on both sides (about a minute each side).
Enjoy!
You can serve these on burger buns as the original recipe calls for….or stuff them in some pitas with veggies of choice and feta and tzatiki.
