I went on vacation to the Ritz in St. Thomas when i was just vegetarian. They had the most amazing quinoa burger on the menu that I ate every single day. I stalked the chef until he gave me the recipe. When I went vegan, I decided to veganize the recipe.
Ingredients
1 medium Spanish Onion, diced
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 Green Zucchini, diced
1 Yellow Squash, diced
1-1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 garlic clove, pressed
5 chia eggs (1 Tbsp ground chia seeds + 2 -1/2 Tbsp water = a chia egg)
2 cups panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
Vegan parmesan cheese, to taste (recipe I use below) or any vegan cheese you like…I have used my cultured almond ricotta in this recipe and it was delicious.
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
Make sure you cut all your vegetables the same size. Heat a non-stick frying pan on low/medium.
Sweat the onions, bell peppers, zucchini, squash until tender and have released some moisture. You will want to sprinkle salt on top to achieve this. Add minced garlic at the very end. Take off the heat and cool
Blend all ingredients in a bowl or food processor preferably.
If you have time, chill the mixture for an hour or so before forming into patties, for a firmer patty.
Divide burger mix into 8 equal portions and form into 3 inch patties
Fry in a little oil on medium heat, 5 - 10 minutes each side, until browned and firm
To freeze uncooked, place the patties between sheets of wax paper on a baking sheet and freeze. Store in a freezer bag or plastic container and cook as needed (thaw in fridge or microwave)
Vegan Parmesan
Ingredients
3/4 cup raw cashews
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder, optional
Direction
Add all ingredients to a coffee grinder and pulse until a fine meal is achieved. Store in the refrigerator to keep fresh.